The Eastlake Zoo Tavern opened in 1974 at the corner of Eastlake Avenue East and East Lynn Street, in a 1902 building that had housed various bars and taverns since the mid-1930s. In 1974, a group of individuals, many from the nearby “hippie” houseboat community in Eastlake, acquired the building and opened the Eastlake Zoo as an employee co-op. Ownership percentage was based on number of hours worked and positions, which were held in a rotation. In 2007, operation of the Zoo was taken over by former employee-owner Howard Brown, who had been a member of the co-op from 1978 until 1992 and continues to run the Eastlake Zoo Tavern as of 2024. The venue has changed little in 50 years of business, still featuring a cash-only bar serving beer and wine only, the same eclectic décor, and a variety of bar games. Early on, the venue hosted live band performances, but later used that space to expand its game area, which includes pool tables and a snooker table, darts, shuffleboard, ping-pong, skeeball, and other arcade games.

Here, a customer shoots pool at one of the tables at the Eastlake Zoo Tavern in 2007. The view looks towards the rear of the tavern, showing the pool tables and the balcony area at upper right.

Caption information source: "Zoo's Keepers" by Mike Lewis, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 8, 2007, p. 1, 8
Caption information source: "The Eastlake Zoo" at the Rotgut.org Blog,March 11, 2021, retrieved at Rotgut.org Blog