Entry No. 137 — the Denver file — filed under: haunted
The Speakeasy (Imperial Hotel basement)
The Speakeasy is a real, operating basement bar tucked beneath the 1881 Imperial Hotel (originally the Zweck Hotel) at 301 Main St, accessed via the building's historic underground sidewalk passage that was genuinely rumored to have been used for bootlegging. Open nightly 4pm–2am, it leans hard into the Prohibition aesthetic with craft cocktails, moody lighting, and a rotating weekly lineup of live music, jazz jams, karaoke, and DJ dance nights.
The move: Descend into the underground entrance for evening cocktails during the Thursday live jam session (9pm–midnight) or the Monday night blues jam, then linger over the vintage-speakeasy atmosphere — low ceilings, pool tables, and the knowledge that you're drinking in a tunnel locals have called haunted for over a century.
📍 Before you go This one sits in downtown Longmont, not Denver — figure roughly a 40-minute drive north and treat it as an evening out. The bar lives in the basement of the three-story 1880s Imperial Hotel (the old Zweck building) at 301 Main St; at street level you will see other tenants, so look for the stairs down to the restored underground sidewalk passage that forms the entrance. It is a 21-plus night spot, busiest on live-music and jam nights, so check the lineup first. Hours skew late and shift seasonally, so confirm ahead, and walkable historic Main St is right there for dinner beforehand.
- 📍 Longmont
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 301 Main St (basement), Longmont, CO 80501
Hours: Mined 2026-06-07 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Yelp · visitlongmont.org
last checked: 2026-06-07