Pony

(original location)

Pony was another well-known bar from the beloved 500 block of East Pine, but it was different from the others. When the owners of Cha-Cha Lounge and Bimbo's moved to their new location up the hill on Pike, they decided to remodel the space they still had a lease on and create something legendary. If you knew you only had five months to live, wouldn't you try to have as much fun as possible?

There were three unisex bathrooms onsite. The two in the old Cha-Cha side looked much like the rest of that part of the bar, covered in vintage beefcake shots and mail-order ads for sex toys. There was also something you're not likely to see anywhere else ever again.

That's right, a clown mouth glory hole. Don't worry, it was full of splinters and way too long and narrow to be used. Mostly it was fun to send a friend into one bathroom while you went into the other so you could talk to each other like you were kids with some cans on a string.

The third bathroom was a remodeled version of the old Bimbo's bathroom, which was great in its own time. Back in the day, it was painted up in bright colors and lit with black light, which was fun because urine glows under black light. The mirror was less fun because your teeth always looked terrible. The old Bimbo's space became Pony's game room, and I liked to think of it as an arcade midway with the bathroom serving as the big top. The reason? It was decorated with stripes and insane horse heads.

Pony's new location (with a new owner) should be open soon. Hopefully they're working hard to recreate the dirty, fun atmosphere.

Special thanks to my friend Alan who provided all the photos for this entry.