Rathskeller and Bar

The Rathskeller, true to its name, lies in the basement directly below the Hollengreen Room, and adjacent to the chapter refectory. Part of the original house. it was developed very early on as an entertainment area, out of sight from prying eyes upstairs, and has served in this role for as long as the chapter has occupied the house. Most alumni know it as the Tap Room, or simply as “the Bar,” though the contribution of a new bar in the Mitchell Room requires a distinction now be drawn.

This Bar sits to the northeast corner, surmounted by the fraternity letters since time immemorial. The rathskeller and bar are full of memories of raucous parties, yet this is a space where new members have been known to leave their most personal mark literally; the timbers and tables in the room are home to hundreds of carvings and initials from pre-Initiations across the generations. And remembering our rollicking origins, along the west wall is a shelf bearing the words Im Schwarzen Walfisch Zu Ascalon— the name of the German drinking song was adopted as the name of the ISWZA Society, the local predecessor of Lambda Chi Alpha.