It all started in the 1870s when a group of men, after returning home from the CIVIL WAR, constructed me from timber, brick and mortar. The adage "they don’t build them like they used to" stands particularly true in my case. Buildings today, taking the rumbling and shaking for over a century as I have, would be a pile of rubble.

My first assignment was to house the CARR HOTEL for the stagecoach travelers along the Detroit-Chicago route. Then came the railroads, and I welcomed settlers to the Midwest.

There were a series of names in my early youth:
The NEAT HOUSE, DAD’S TAVERN and the OLIVER HOUSE. Oliver Westfall really made me prosper, with rooms for travelers on my second floor, and a first floor saloon. We went through World War I and some bad times, but mostly good. The happiest year was 1933, when PROHIBITION ended, my saloon was no longer an ice cream parlor. I remained the OLIVER HOUSE until World War II when I became known as Ken’s. After the War, our boys came home and enrolled in the nearby universities.

I became a favorite watering hole for EMU students majoring in the fine art of imbibing. The ‘60s and ‘70s brought the ALIBI BAR and the ’80s brought AUBREE’S SALOON, now a jewel of Ypsi’s 19th Century Historic District. The guys in D.C. have designated me as a National Historic Building; one of the proudest days of my life.

Throughout the changes in history, I still uphold the American Saloon Tradition of warmth, hospitality, good food and great drink. When the light’s just right, my south façade still proclaims “The OLIVER HOUSE.” As in the beginning of my life, you are welcome here anytime!