If anyone has further data, or corrections of what is below, please send them to Bob Corbett. Thanks.
There is a two-story “ghost” sign at 1206 Tamm Ave. This was placed there by W.D. Coyne when that address was a saloon.
The Dogtown Historical Society is planning to have the signed renovated into its colorful glory of 1904 (when the tavern opened and the beer advertised, Alphen Brau, was introduced).
However, there is an immediate question. Why in the world would Mr. Coyne place this sign on the SOUTH wall of his building since there is another building 6 feet away, and one couldn’t see the sign unless one were standing in front of it.
The obvious reply is the right one: When he put the sign there the building to the south, now the well-known restaurant/bar, Seamus McDaniels, was not there and there was no building at all. Were the Seamus McDaniels building (1208 Tamm) not there, then the Coyne sign would have been easily visible from all the way to St. James Church and Wade Avenue.
I got interested in the ownership of the three properties in question: 1206 Tamm Ave. which I first find as Coyne’s Saloon in the Gould’s St. Louis Guide of 1905, but it is most likely he opened in 1904 for the World’s Fair. There was an entrance to the fairgrounds just at the bottom of Tamm Ave. at Oakland. Then 1208-1210 is the building currently occupied by Seamus McDaniels which was built in 1928, but didn’t become a restaurant/bar until after Prohibition ended. I first find it listed as such in 1935 when Jack O’Shea has a restaurant there.
Bob Corbett
March 2006
First occupied by Dennis T. Coyne’s saloon
From 1919 when Prohibition came, Coyne became a soft drink establishment. Prohibition didn’t end until the end of 1933.
The city lists the building as being built in 1928. This explains why there is a 2-story sign painted on the south wall of 1206 Tamm, W.T. Coyne’s Saloon. From when Coyne opened until 1928, there was no building south of 1206 to Victoria Ave. Thus the large Sign on Coyne’s building would have been visible from Nashville Ave. on when one was coming north on Tamm Ave.
There is a bit of a puzzle from 1956 to Jack O’Shea’s giving up the tavern (or dying), and I don’t have that data yet. However, there is a name change for 1956.
1956 – 1960: Emerald Bar, and also American Cigarette Vending. Daisy O’Shea is listed as living at 1208a in 1956, but not listed as “widow” until 1960.
In a 1954 news article (which is on my web page), Jack O’Shea is arrested for running a gambling establishment at the upstairs address. And the bar is listed as Jack O’Shea’s, but with the name: Shamrock Bar. Gould’s St. Louis Directory lists it as Jack O’Shea’s, tavern.
I have heard stories that Norm Journey, a bartender at O’Shea’s, took over the business when O’Shea gave it up. However, in 1960, Journey is listed as living on Louisville, but working as a salesman downtown.
| HOME | DOGTOWN |
| Bibliography | Oral history | Recorded history | Photos |
| YOUR page | External links | Walking Tour |