Welcome to the Bucyrus
Tourism & Visitors' Bureau
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Welcome to the Bucyrus Tourism & Visitors' Bureau
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| Special BTVB Events:
Show Schedule: April 17, 2010 Spring Speakeasy Dinner Theater (Dinner Theater performances include a catered meal off site) Aug. 17 & 20, 2010 Festival Speakeasy Productions
A Short History
of the
Bucyrus Speakeasy
The building, built by Henry N.
Oberlander in 1916, was originally called the Highway Hotel. The
structure still has its 36” walls built with a layer of regular
bricks and then a decorative layer of brick. The underground
gathering area was called the Highway Grill at that time. Then in
the late 1930’s it was renamed the Rathskellar. The bricks and most
of the wood are still original. The tables are also the originals
that were found stacked in a pile in a corner. The seats are also
still made of the original boards. The curtain hanging by the
outside entrance is new, but there was a curtain that hung in this
location used to hide the liquor bottles, etc. during prohibition.
The original hand-operated elevator is also still evident in this
building. During your visit to the speakeasy you can also see the
underground tunnel that connected the room to the far South end of
town, used for emergency quick get-aways.
For
sixty years after the speakeasy closed, the room was used for
storage. Then in the fall of 2002, it was opened so the public
could see where many of the gangsters, including Al Capone, stopped
when traveling by train from Chicago to New York. When Al Capone
came to town via the railroad, there was a siding where the current
Amvets Building is now located, where the train parked Mr. Capone’s
private train car during his stay in Bucyrus.
Even
today there are individuals that had connections to this shady
underground business. One lady called after reading about the
renovations and said that her husband was actually Capone’s private
driver while he was in town. Another local resident said that she
went to work there when she graduated from high school in 1934.
Our Bureau offers a scheduled tour of the speakeasy with the story,
or two theater productions. One production is a thirty minute story
that is scheduled Monday thru Friday after 4:30 p.m. or on Saturdays
between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The other production is
a little over an hour long, done as a Dinner Theatre or for other
special occasions. Both of these productions are a combination of
history, singing, dancing, laughter, and a fun time for all!! A
group of at least (35) thirty-five people is required for both of
the two productions. The productions are performed by members
of the Bucyrus Little Theatre and the Tourism Bureau. The Little
Theatre also presents a variety of other plays at their own theatre
during the year that groups may enjoy attending.
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  BTVB’s Original Speakeasy Production Roaring Twenties Live Come on in, ladies and
gents. Everything is easy going here at the Speakeasy. Pull up a chair...and
Unwind. Let us take you back in time when this underground spot was jumpin’ and jivin’ during the Roaring 1920s. Our 1/2 hour or one hour productions feature the
lively history of Bucyrus’ own downtown Speakeasy when it was a notable
hangout for gangsters traveling by train between Chicago and New
York City. You’ll hear some stories of America’s most notorious gangster
Al Capone, enjoy dancing, music, and see the location of actual passages
to the city’s underground tunnels. The Speakeasy Production is an original play
produced by the Bucyrus Tourism and
This show is produced at the actual location where gangsters from New York frequently gathered during the 1920’s era in Bucyrus.
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 The Bureau office is open Monday through Friday 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM ET. Local (419)562-0720 /Toll Free (866)562-0720 |
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Visitors
Bureau, that features members of the BTVB and the Bucyrus Little
Theater.
