Down on the corner…

Did you know that the high and lofty National Trust for Historic Places actually hands out an award the the most popular historic bar in America each year? 

Neither did we. That’s because last year was the very first year of the award. Yet, even with all the falderal, something seems wrong. One somehow expects an historic bar to be old…as least as old as, say, baby boomers. It should have a rich looking facade that evokes a halcyon day and age. And it should have Great Stories to related. 

Well, at least the last part is true in this case. All Hail The Corner Club in Moscow, Idaho is the first-ever champion of The Big Tap: Historic Bars.

When we heard of the contest and its winner we set out to find images of the bar, but only came up with the rather ordinary neon sign. Then we found the amazingly dull exterior of the building. 

Perhaps this was the end of a bar crawl and no one cared at this point…or they were seeing a lot of what is not there. Have a look at the pictures and decide for yourself. 

Now, as to the stories…that might be the saving grace for this place. 

A man and his horse walk into a bar. The man orders two beers: one for him, one for his horse.

Not a joke. No punch line. T

his is a true story from one day in the history of the Corner Club, a beloved 66-year-old sports bar in Moscow, Idaho. Yes, it is a college town…that must explain it. 

“Since 1948, it’s just been crazy stories like that,” says the Corner Club’s co-owner Marc Trivelpiece. Trivelpiece laughs as he recounts another tale from the Corner Club’s history, of a man who would challenge his fellow bar patrons to a beer chugging contest. Their opponent? 

His sheep. 

The sheep won every time.

For such a boring building, the original Corner Club building held several functions: a brewery, a bakery, a restaurant, and a chapel, until finally, in 1948, Gene “Hermie” Goetz and Neal Lynd turned the entire space into a bar.

“It started as a neighborhood bar for guys to get away from their wives,” Trivelpiece says.

Over time, though, the old locals-only ethos of the bar faded, and it became a bona fide college sports bar. It’s decked out top to bottom in University of Idaho Vandals gear and memorabilia. On game day, fans stand elbow to elbow to cheer for their team. Again, where is the historic nature of the place? Gray brick walls? 

Part of the building was razed in the early ‘90s, leaving only the cinderblock addition (which was added to the original building decades after it was first built).

This is historic? 

Well, I guess it is a matter of taste. The Corner Club is located at:

Location: 202 N. Main St., Moscow, ID 83843

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Best Review: “If you ever needed to know about the popularity of this place, just try to get in the door on any given weekend or after a Vandal football game. … This place is THE Vandal bar in town.”

Notable Honor: Sports Illustrated named the Corner Club its West Region Selection on its Best Sports Bars in America list in 2013.

Another Notable Honor: ESPN magazine declared a visit to the Corner Club one of the "99 Things to Do Before You Die."

Fun Fact: Co-owner Marc Trivelpiece met his wife and fellow co-owner at the Corner Club. “It wasn’t a very hard sell for my wife when I said, “Hey, what do you think about going back [to Moscow] and buying the Corner Club?’” he says, adding, “Some of my best memories have happened here.”

So, a gray brick bar is both popular and historic…

Go figure.