Namesake of good-times, law-dodging, dance hall owner Montrose Ringler, this pub relived a slice of history a hundred years after first opening: Montrose Ringler’s Crystal Ballroom was shut down by the well-meaning, but stern, Lola Baldwin in the 1920s, only to reemerge as a different kind of dance hall, then later as a venue spotlighting the likes of James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Grateful Dead and Buffalo Springfield. In 2020-21 we had a shutdown of a different sort, but Ringlers Pub’s phoenix-like return didn’t feel so different.
This place of pinball, pool games, great meals, handcrafted beverages and spirited conversations sprang back, just as it did post-Lola. Anchored by a spectacular mosaic-tiled bar, Ringlers, located at street level below the Crystal Ballroom, was opened by the McMenamins brothers in 1997 after years as an auto dealership, then glass company. Ringlers is known for its extensive whiskey selection: more than 160 from around the world, and growing. It’s a great downtown spot to stop for a whiskey, ale or cocktail.
