Sid’s Ranch House Tavern

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Sid’s Ranch House Tavern occupied a building that had been converted into a movie theater during the first part of the twentieth century. It had been the Teddy Bear Parlor ca. 1908 – 1919, and the Mickey until 1920 or ‘21. Sidney Silverman, a retired boxer turned bartender, opened his tavern in the late 1950s. It became a popular neighborhood hangout for people of different races, and it had a reputation for racial trouble. According to one Lumbee patron, Mr. Silverman “had a habit of every time the Indians would get in fights there, he would bar ‘em from the bar for a while. Wouldn’t let no Indians come in his bar… He’d do it for a while and then he’d open up. I guess he missed our business, and he’d open up and let ‘em back.” Mr. Silverman likely sold the property at 1741 E. Baltimore Street to the City during Urban Renewal and it was razed.