TACOMA: Parkway Tavern memories
It was so good to see the article on the Parkway Tavern and its 80th anniversary (TNT, 7-24).
Perhaps I can clear up one mystery on the ownership during the late 1950s and the 1960s. Alex McPhail, an old boxer, was the owner at this time. The walls were covered with pictures of old prizefighters. I was the letter carrier at the Parkway, and Alex was kind enough to allow us mailmen to eat our sack lunch at the bar with a purchase of a cup of coffee.
I remember a German girl, Annie Sprengel, as one of the bartenders. Alex put green dye in the beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day each year. I have a picture given to me by Alex of him and Jersey Joe Walcott, the famous boxer. Great memories of a Tacoma institution.
This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "TACOMA: Parkway Tavern memories."