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Bar History
This bar has been a part of Centralia
House for over 100 years!!
The Budweiser light that hangs over
the bar was given to us by August
Busch I.
The bar also contains a 100 year old
Old national cash register that is still
used to this day.
Restaurant History
The Centralia House was a landmark and a tradition on the original Illinois
Central Railroad. Constructed about 1854, it was the social center of centralia
until it burned in 1918, and was famous for its restaurant in the days before the
dining car. Each train was met by a waiter who announced the meals with a
large brass gong. Some of the great men of american history dined at the
Centralia House, including Stephen douglas, generals Grant, McClellan, Sherman
and many more. The restaurant had such a fine reputation for good food that
traveling drummers scheduled their trips to spend their weekends here. It was
also popular as a stopping-off place for the local smart set.
The building which houses the restaurant now was built over a century ago as a
saloon and a sporting house. It still retains its pre-1900 bar and back bar. Except
for an addition for the kitchen and the conversion of the stable to a storage room,
the restaurant is exactly as it was over a century ago, even to the spirits
warehouse in a stone cellar below the bar.
| Centralia House Restaurant 111 North Oak | Centralia,IL 62801 | 618-532-9754 |
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