The Owl Bar to auction off historic fixtures

Historic fixtures from the Owl Bar, including bar stools and six wooden banquettes that the restaurant's operators say date back to 1903, will be put up for auction on May 31. A portion of the proceeds from the auction of the fixtures and other donated items will benefit the Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS).

The Owl Bar at the Belvedere has been a gathering space for Baltimoreans for more than 100 years. Before it was named the Owl Bar, the tavern at the Belvedere was known as the Owl Room, and before that simply as the "bar at the Belvedere."

The bar has survived Prohibition, when it was reputedly operated as a speakeasy, numerous changes in the Belvedere's ownership and management and even years when the hotel, now a condominium building, was closed altogether.

The banquettes, according to a Facebook page promoting the auction, were replaced last year with new ones covered in faux zebra skins in the Owl Bar's main dining room and rich oxblood mohair in the smaller dining room.

"A gallant effort was made to incorporate the original banquettes into the new design," the post says, "but to no avail."

The event will include live music, hors d'ouevres and a full bar. Representatives from BARCS will be bringing adoptable dogs in the shelter's mobile adoption vehicle, the BFF Wagon.

The Tails of the Owl Bar auction is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 31 in the John Eager Howard Room at the Belvedere Hotel. Admission is $5 and tickets are available via Eventbrite.