Tobacco Road Demolished, Just Days After 102nd Anniversary

The Road is rubble. Last month, the infamous century-old boozing establishment at 626 S. Miami Avenue slung its final beer and a shot. The Last Call Closing Party ended with bleary eyes and empty glasses at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Over the weekend, Miami's Oldest Bar celebrated its...

By S. Pajot

November 20, 2014

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The Road is rubble.

Last month, the infamous century-old boozing establishment at 626 S. Miami Avenue slung its final beer and a shot. The Last Call Closing Party ended with bleary eyes and empty glasses at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

Over the weekend, Miami's Oldest Bar celebrated its 102nd anniversary.

And today, it was demolished.

See also: Ten of Miami's Oldest Bars

In the weeks before Tobacco Road's demolition, a crew -- led by general manager Joel Rivera -- salvaged its famous neon sign, old wood bartop, vintage blues posters, memorabilia, photographs, patio signage, and all manner of other artifacts.

After all, Rivera and a group of other former Road employees are currently carrying on a Kickstarter campaign in an attempt to raise $50,000 for a possible relocation to 69 SW Seventh Street, just about a block away from its original lot.

So far, the We Are Tobacco Road! drive has raised $4,953. Donate via kickstarter.com/profile/TobaccoRoad.

Meanwhile, the Road is also being reincarnated as a bar aboard a cruise ship. And a food truck.

Of course, though, as the Road's longtime music booker Mark Weiser often says, "There was something about the molecules in the wood" at 626 S. Miami Avenue.

That place defied Prohibition. It hosted Al Capone. And it survived the Cocaine Cowboy '80s.

But now it's gone.

Crossfade's Top Blogs

-Tobacco Road: A Seven-Part, 102-Year History

-Tobacco Road's Last Call Ever: Closing Night at Miami's Oldest Bar

-Tobacco Road Closing, Becoming Bar Aboard Norwegian Cruise Ship in 2015

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