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Popular campus hangout, where you went to drink when you turned 21. Closd. Hours: Closed. |
The Pretzel Bell or P-Bell was a popular campus restaurant, owned by Clint Castor and his family, from the 1930s until it closed in the 1980s. It was the bar of choice for the Men's Glee Club, for Michigan Daily staff, and for many other campus groups. A popular local Blue Grass band, the RFD Boys, played to a packed crowd on Saturday nights for many years.
After it closed you would annually spot alums coming back for homecoming asking for directions to the P-Bell and you'd have to tell them it was closed.
The building now houses Champion House. The Castor family also owned the Village Bell on South University St. Most recently an Uno's Pizza restaurant.
Sources:
- Rah, Rah, Rah, Time Magazine Oct 21, 1946 story on the return of college football post WWII mentioning the crowds at the Pretzel Bell.
- 1974 Pretzel Bell Demonstration protesting discrimination against lesbians and gays, from the Labadie Collection
- Confronting the racism in Michigan's History, 2007 Michigan Daily op-ed noting that the Pretzel Bell was off limits to black in the 1940s and 1950s