The Blue Anchor Pub

My web browser is filled with various news stories and feature articles every day, and one of them must have featured historic bars in Florida, which is how I learned about The Blue Anchor British Pub on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Florida. And just by coincidence, I wound up parking almost in front of it when my sister Susan and I drove down to see the Delray Beach Art Festival. On the way back from that festival, I took the photograph above of a group of bicycle riders, the women decked out in holiday attire, stopping in front of the place, no doubt considering a post-ride pint. Susan and I didn't go in, since it was still kind of early and I had only 10 minutes left on the meter, but I looked the place up on the internet when I got home. This pub opened in London in 1865, and before it was razed, the front facade and the interior were disassembled, shipped to New York, and stored there until 1996, when they were shipped to Delray Beach and became The Blue Anchor. And it turns out that Bertha Starkey, who lived with her husband above that bar back in the 1800s, was murdered by him there in a jealous rage and haunts The Blue Anchor to this day. I was thinking of going back to check the place out but then saw an article in the newspaper that said The Blue Anchor underwent a health inspection and was closed down this past Thursday for multiple violations, including 300 rodent droppings in a dry storage area. Evidently the place still remains closed. And so, I am rethinking visiting them if and when they finally reopen, although I see on their website that they have a Happy Hour featuring $5 20oz pints Monday through Friday from 11:30 to 7:00. Avoiding rodent droppings versus $5 British pints - decisions, decisions.