Shamrock Lounge

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The Shamrock Lounge is one of Wichita's oldest bars. The building itself was built with a storefront and two upstairs apartments, though it's unclear what business was housed there. That is, until Prohibition was repealed in 1933. That same year, Theodore C. Geselle, a local airplane designer, purchased the building and opened Geselle's Bar & Grill. According to a story from his granddaughter, Geselle was a part-time bootlegger prior to opening his bar. Mrs. Geselle ran a pharmacy for a number of years out of the other half of the building. Legend has it that many pharmacies sold alcohol during Prohibition to those with "proper" prescriptions.

Sometime around 1949, Geselle sold his building to a Wichita businessman, Morris McGlynn, who opened the Shamrock Lounge. The Shamrock was passed from father to son to wife and then a series of managers, before the current owners purchased it in 2002.

Pictures of the Geselles courtesy of current owner, Dave Stough.