Formerly: Atheneum Theatre · Pastime Bar & Cafe
Leadville, Colorado · Founded 1878 · Building: circa 1878
A working Leadville saloon in an 1870s-era State Street building, tied to the historic Atheneum Theatre and current Pastime lineage.
The Pastime Saloon operates at 120 West 2nd Street, historically known as State Street, in Leadville, Colorado. The business traces its identity to an 1878 site associated with the Atheneum Theatre, a dance hall and gambling saloon in Leadville's mining-boom era. Current tourism sources call it the last remaining saloon on old State Street, but the full operating and ownership chain behind its claimed continuous history has not been independently documented.
Local accounts associate the building at 120 West 2nd Street with the Atheneum Theatre, a dance hall and gambling saloon during Leadville's mining boom. This review did not locate a primary property, license, or newspaper record confirming the precise date.
Source: Aspen Leaf Realty, "Dining and Nightlife - Leadville"; Pastime Saloon official website
The Leadville Herald reported that Pastime Saloon opened its historic doors, describing the building as the last existing saloon on old State Street.
Source: The Leadville Herald, "Pastime Saloon opens historic doors"
Leadville Twin Lakes tourism listed Pastime Saloon at 120 West 2nd Street with cocktails, beer, wine, games, live music, and a patio.
Source: Visit Leadville Twin Lakes, "Pastime Saloon"
Pastime Saloon's official site continues to identify the venue at 120 West 2nd Street and markets it as an "Antique Dive" with an 1878 historical lineage.
Source: Pastime Saloon official website
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The current business markets itself as being in business since 1878, and local accounts connect the site to the 1878 Atheneum Theatre. This review did not locate continuous license, directory, tax, deed, ownership, newspaper, or operating records that establish uninterrupted Pastime Saloon business operation through Prohibition and later transitions.
Local real-estate and tourism-oriented historical accounts identify the building as the former Atheneum Theatre, a dance hall and gambling saloon. The review did not retrieve a historic-resource survey, city-directory sequence, building permit, or period newspaper confirmation.
Colorado tourism and local reporting describe Pastime as the last existing saloon on old State Street, now West 2nd Street. The claim is credible but requires a historic-district inventory and property-by-property comparison for documentary certainty.
The candidate provided no verifiable source for a Brunswick maker, mahogany construction, or wagon transport. One local community listing instead describes a "Chinese bamboo bar," and the retrieved sources do not establish the bar's provenance.
The current business and tourism listings repeat the names of Doc Holliday and Jesse James among historical patrons. This review did not find primary evidence placing either man at this specific saloon. A generic Old West association is not enough to verify an individual visit.
The Pastime Saloon has been continuously operating as the same business since 1878.
The current Pastime business claims an 1878 lineage, and local accounts link its building to the 1878 Atheneum Theatre. This review did not find records proving uninterrupted operation of the same named Pastime business through all intervening periods.
Source: Pastime Saloon official website; Visit Leadville Twin Lakes, "Pastime Saloon"; The Leadville Herald, "Pastime Saloon opens historic doors"
The Pastime's bar is a documented original Brunswick mahogany backbar delivered by wagon.
No reliable source located in this review establishes a Brunswick maker, mahogany material, original installation, or wagon-shipping provenance for the bar. The claim should not be published without object or building documentation.
Source: Public-source research reviewed August 27, 2026; no reliable provenance record located
Pastime Saloon's current phone number is (719) 486-9986.
The current official Pastime Saloon website lists (719) 285-4777. Other mapping and directory services display (719) 486-9986, so visitors should verify the number directly with the venue.
Source: Pastime Saloon official website; Apple Maps; Visit Leadville Twin Lakes
The Pastime remains a working local bar by combining its historic State Street setting with cocktails, beer, games, live music, and a patio. Its survival story is about reuse of a late-19th-century entertainment building and renewed local activity, not a fully verified uninterrupted saloon operation since 1878.
The Pastime Saloon in Leadville, Colorado, operates at 120 West 2nd Street in a building local accounts associate with the 1878 Atheneum Theatre, a mining-boom dance hall and gambling saloon. The present Pastime business markets an 1878 lineage and occupies what tourism sources call the last remaining saloon on old State Street. The review did not locate a full documentary record proving that the same named business operated without interruption from 1878 to today.
The Pastime Saloon is not established by this review as Leadville's oldest bar. It has a claimed 1878 lineage and a credible connection to one of the city's last surviving old State Street saloon buildings, but continuous operation and a citywide comparison have not been documented. The nearby Silver Dollar Saloon has a separate claimed 1879 Board of Trade lineage, but neither venue's oldest-title status is resolved here.
Yes. The Pastime Saloon currently operates at 120 West 2nd Street in Leadville, with drinks, games, events, and live music listed through its official site and Leadville visitor information. Confirm current hours before visiting because public listings show differing schedules.
The Pastime Saloon and tourism listings repeat stories that Doc Holliday and Jesse James were patrons. This review did not locate contemporaneous newspaper reports, diaries, ledgers, photographs, court records, or other primary evidence proving either individual visited the specific saloon, so the stories remain unverified.
120 W 2nd St, Leadville, CO 80461
(719) 285-4777
Pastime operates on historic West 2nd Street with drinks, games, and live events. Check the official site before visiting because current hours and phone numbers vary across public listings.