Scholz Garten Turns 160 This Saturday: Inside Austin's Oldest Bar

Scholz Garten turns 160 years old this Saturday, August 1 — and it's still pouring beer at the same address in downtown Austin where August Scholz first opened the doors in 1866. According to ATX Things analysis of the historical record, it's the oldest continuously operating tavern in the state of Texas, and Austin, Texas locals have been drinking under its live oak trees through six wars, Prohibition, two fires, and the controversial 1962 arrival of air conditioning.

No public 160th-anniversary event had been announced as of this writing — Scholz's own calendar shows Saturday running on its normal hours. But that's sort of the point. This is a bar that has outlasted almost every plan anyone's ever made for it, and one more entry in Austin's History & Heritage file, alongside the Austin History Center's own 2026 comeback.

How Old Is Scholz Garten, Really?

August Scholz, a German immigrant, Civil War veteran and bookbinder by trade, bought the lot at 1607 San Jacinto Boulevard in 1862 for about $2,400 and ran it as a boarding house. He opened his saloon and beer garden there on August 1, 1866 — the date the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas cites as the founding of "Scholz Garden." Saturday marks 160 years since that opening, according to both the TSHA and the venue's own history page.

It isn't the oldest business in Texas outright — Wikipedia notes the Menger Hotel in San Antonio (1859), the Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson (1858) and Galveston's Daily News (1842) all predate it. But among bars, it's the one nobody's topped: 160 straight years pouring drinks on the same lot.

What Was Austin Like When Scholz Garten Opened?

Austin in 1866 was a small, dusty state capital just starting to rebuild after the Civil War. Scholz's beer garden quickly became the anchor of the city's German immigrant community, which by 1875 made up more than 7 percent of Austin's population, according to the TSHA. Sunday concerts became a fixture by the 1880s — a June 26, 1887 program, preserved in the historical record, had George Herzog's Orchestra playing Verdi, Waldteufel and selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado," alongside fireworks, a menagerie and hot-air balloon rides. The Austin Saengerrunde, the city's last surviving German singing society, held meetings and rehearsals there for decades before buying the property outright in 1908 and building the hall and six-lane bowling alley that still stand behind the beer garden today.

How Did It Survive Prohibition — and Air Conditioning?

Prohibition should have killed Scholz Garten. Instead, Saengerrunde ownership carried it through: the bar sold non-alcoholic "Bone Dry Beer" and leaned harder on food, though it vanished from the Austin city directory between 1927 and 1937 and public access was likely limited during that stretch. It reopened to the public in 1937.

The bigger fight, historically, was over air conditioning. When lessee Bob Bales installed it in 1962 — the same renovation that changed the spelling from "Garden" to "Garten" — it reportedly sparked what the TSHA's Handbook of Texas calls "a minor rebellion from traditionalists," who apparently preferred sweating it out under the oaks. It's a detail worth sitting with this week, with Austin's own forecast running 98°F to 106°F through the weekend: Scholz regulars fought AC for a century of hot Augusts before finally giving in.

Who Has Been Drinking There Since 1866?

The guest list, per the historical record, reads like a survey of Texas politics and letters. Gunfighter and former Austin city marshal Ben Thompson reportedly celebrated a courtroom acquittal there in 1883. Lady Bird Johnson belonged to a UT women's social club, the Bored Martyrs, that held its meetings at Scholz's. William Sidney Porter — O. Henry — advertised his short-lived weekly, the Rolling Stone, from the beer garden. Billy Lee Brammer fictionalized it as the "Dearly Beloved Beer and Garden Party" in his 1962 novel "The Gay Place," and Willie Morris wrote about it in "North Toward Home" in 1967.

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"A gathering place for Texans of discernment, taste, culture [and] erudition... epitomizing the finest traditions of magnificent German heritage in our state."

That's the Texas Legislature itself, in House Resolution No. 68, honoring Scholz Garten's centennial in 1966 — 60 years before this weekend's 160th.

Its location, a few blocks from both the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas campus, has kept it in that orbit ever since: it's still a default UT gameday tailgate spot and a longtime hangout for legislators and lobbyists working the Capitol a few blocks north.

What Should You Order, and When?

Scholz still runs German-leaning pub food — Bavarian pretzels, wurst platters, jägerschnitzel — alongside Texas comfort food and a beer list heavy on the domestic drafts its regulars have ordered for generations. It's one stop on a much longer list of Austin bars worth knowing, but it's the only one on that list old enough to remember the 1880s.

Tonight happens to be a small, current-day echo of that 1880s concert tradition: Scholz's own calendar lists a pre-party for IVE's show at Moody Center (this week's other arena show, previewed here), with the full menu running 11 AM–3 PM and an abbreviated menu from 3–9 PM (bar open til 10). It's a short drive or rideshare from the beer garden to the venue — swap the German singing society's Sunday orchestra for K-pop, and Scholz is doing the same job it did in 1887: giving Austin somewhere to gather before the show.

What Locals Should Know

• It opened August 1, 1866 — this Saturday is 160 years to the day.
• No anniversary event has been announced as of this writing; check scholzgarten.com's calendar before making a special trip for one.
• The Austin Saengerrunde has owned the property since 1908 and still does — Scholz operates under a lease, as it has for most of the last 60 years.
• Weekday Happy Appy (3–5 PM) is the cheapest way to try it: $5 apps, $2 off drafts, $5 domestic cans.
• It's a National Register of Historic Places listing (since 1979) and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (since 1967) — not just an old bar, an actual protected one.
• UT gamedays get crowded. If you want a table on a Saturday with a home game, this is not a walk-up-and-sit situation.

FAQ

Is Scholz Garten really the oldest bar in Texas? Yes — it's the oldest continuously operating tavern in the state, per the Texas State Historical Association. A handful of other Texas businesses (hotels, a newspaper) predate it, but none of them are bars.

Who owns Scholz Garten now? The Austin Saengerrunde, a German singing club, has owned the property since 1908. The beer garden itself operates under a lease.

What are Scholz Garten's hours? Monday–Saturday 11 AM–9 PM, with the bar open until 10 PM. Sunday 12–6 PM, per the venue's own posted hours.

Is there a 160th-anniversary celebration on August 1? None had been publicly announced as of this writing. The safest bet is to check scholzgarten.com's calendar in the days before, since regular events do get added there.

Where is it, and is there parking? 1607 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701 — a few blocks from the Capitol and the UT campus. Street parking and nearby garages serve the area; expect it to be tighter on UT gamedays and concert nights at Moody Center.

Scholz Garten isn't the kind of Austin story that needs a hook beyond the truth: a German bookbinder opened a beer garden in 1866, and 160 years, two world wars, Prohibition and one air-conditioning rebellion later, Austin is still showing up. We're watching whether Saturday brings anything official — follow @austintexasthings for the update.