Arnold's Bar and Grill

The establishment was first opened in 1838 by Susan Fawcett as "a whorehouse," according to Cincinnati historian Mike Morgan.[1][4] In 1861, new owner Simon Arnold operated it as a bar and lived upstairs.[1] The Arnold family operated the bar through 98 years and three generations until 1959,[5] when Elmer Arnold sold it to former professional wrestler and mob collector Jim Christakos,[6][7] who also lived upstairs.[1]

In 1976, Cincinnati City Council member Jim Tarbell purchased it from Christakos and also moved in upstairs.[1] He expanded the bar to include a large outdoor courtyard.[1] In 1998 longtime Arnold's server Ronda Breeden bought it to run with her son Chris Breeden.[1][5] In 2019 Chris and Bethany Breeden took over ownership.[8]

During prohibition the bar operated as a speakeasy.[1][4] Some believe the building to be haunted.[9]

The bathtub cart which fronts the building and is used in local parades refers to the second-floor bathtub which is reputed to have been used to make bathtub gin during prohibition.[10]

In 2019 Arnold's partnered with local distillers Woodstone Creek to produce Hugo Arnold's Bathtub Gin, named for the prohibition-era owner of the bar.[11]

One of America's oldest[3][12] bars, Arnold's Bar and Grill has been noted in Esquire magazine's "Best Bars in America",[10] Thrillist's "Most Iconic Bar in Ohio",[13] The Daily Meal's "150 Best bars in America"[14] and Serious Eats' "The Cincinnati 10".[15] Esquire's beverage historian David Wondrich[16] stated that "if Arnold's were in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Boston – somewhere, in short, that people actually visit – it would be world-famous."[3]

In 2010 Shepard Fairey installed a 15-foot-tall by 20-foot-wide mural entitled "Global Warning" on Arnold's exterior wall.[17] Fairey installed the mural as part of his show "Supply and Demand" at the Contemporary Arts Center that year. The mural is made from wheatpasted screen prints, which the bar has maintained.

In 2013 street artist JR installed a wheatpaste mural in Arnold's courtyard.[18] The mural depicts Arnold's waitresses from the 1930s. JR installed the piece as part of his "Unframed" series, an ongoing project that began in 2010 using images by famous or anonymous photographers and archival images taken out of their context. JR has exhibited Unframed works in Cincinnati, Marseille, Atlanta, Washington DC, Baden Baden, Grottaglie, Vevey, and São Paulo.

In 2015 the artist Hargo (also known as Cash For Your Warhol) installed a mural on Arnold's exterior alley wall. Hargo installed the mural as part of his show "Cash For Your Warhol: Fund Your Startup!" being held at The BLDG in Covington, Kentucky.

In 2020 street artist Vhils installed a carved bas-relief mural portraying "Peanut Jim" Shelton in the courtyard.[19]

National

Local (Cincinnati)