Old Talking Head/Ottobar building up for auction
The Davis Street building (pictured) which used to house the Talking Head Club, The Ottobar and Chambers is headed for auction May 19.
For a mere $10,000, one lucky person will walk away with an integral piece of Baltimore's music history.
Years and years ago, it was a bar with live music called Chambers. If memory serves, it became The Ottobar in the '90s, and then the Talking Head Club in 2002.
The Talking Head abandoned the Davis Street space in 2008 at the end of 2006, and eventually moved to a side room at Sonar. The Ottobar is now on North Howard Street ...
It was a cruddy space, with a busted pool table and an odd layout. But it was our space, and now it's gone. 203 Davis Street, you will be missed.
Thanks to Adam Meister for the tip.
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
I bid $1
Posted by: Want to buy the preaking place | April 28, 2010 2:52 PM
Oh wow, Chambers. You just brought back some memories.
Posted by: Baltimanda | April 28, 2010 3:00 PM
I went to a show at the Talking Head there in the spring of 2008. It did look pretty vacant then, although there was still (minimal) indoor plumbing.
Posted by: fishtail | April 28, 2010 3:06 PM
Fishtail -- good call. I'd forgotten that they resurrected it for a while before moving it to Sonar. Fixed!
Posted by: Sam Sessa | April 28, 2010 3:16 PM
Whoever buys this will be pretty much forced to knock it down.
I propose that before they do you hold the Midnight Sun Situation in Davis Street (not the building, but the actual street.)
Bourbon Street Anti-Fest used to go on there, and I'm sure promoters from the neighborhood would be happy to put you in touch with bands to play.
Posted by: The Baltimore Chop | April 28, 2010 3:24 PM
I've got $27.90, a guitar pick and some lint.
In all seriousness, i hope someone buys the building and keeps it a venue. Needs MAJOR work, but here's for hope.
Posted by: Meekrat | April 28, 2010 3:25 PM
Two days after I moved to Baltimore in 1991 I saw the Jesus Lizard there. Crazy.
Posted by: Volker | April 28, 2010 4:01 PM
DMFS played one of the last shows hosted there. The pipes had just busted so none of the toilets worked. It was freezing outside. But instead of cancelling the show, all of the guys pissed in the alley around the corner, and all of the girls used the bathrooom at The Sidebar around the corner. That was pretty rock and roll.
Definitely remains as one of the best venues we've ever played. It'd be awesome if someone cool bought it and fixed it up, but the chances of that seem slim.
Posted by: Ryan Graham | April 28, 2010 5:04 PM
Ryan, if memory serves some of the girls pissed in the alley as well.
Posted by: Curtis Crispin | April 29, 2010 8:12 AM
Played at The Chambers many times, fun place!
Posted by: Hon | April 29, 2010 10:08 AM
God I miss that ... little place. Saw some great shows there.
Posted by: Bill | April 30, 2010 3:34 PM