The Old Town Ale House is a saloon in the Old Town neighborhood of

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, that has been in operation since 1958. It is currently located at 219 W. North Avenue.

Bruce Elliott and his paintings

Bruce Elliott is a painter and the current owner of the bar. Elliott inherited the bar from a previous owner on the condition that the bar not be changed. The walls of the bar are filled with portraits of regular bar-goers and famous patrons (such as

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

and Dan Aykroyd—many of whom had been working at the

Second City Theatre The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

also located on Wells and North Avenue). Other paintings include lewd political satire of well-known people such as Rod Blagojevich being strip searched, Sarah Palin posing naked on a polar bear rug,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

dancing as a ballerina or

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's secon ...

and

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

in handcuffs (also painted by Elliott). The Old Town Ale House has been called "The best bar in the world that I know about" by Roger Ebert whose biographical film '' Life Itself'' contains several interviews within the bar, and ends with a portrait of Ebert in the bar that was painted by Elliott.

References

External links

Official Website
Drinking establishments in Chicago 1958 establishments in Illinois {{Chicago-struct-stub