Congress Street Up Speakeasy
For additional information, please call 912-551-4054 or visit the bars official website.
Address The speakeasy can be accessed as part of the museum experience, but if you are visiting in the evening, the entrance is at 220 Congress Street, at the corner of Congress and Jefferson Streets.
Evening hours Wednesday-Saturday, 6:30pm-12am.
American Prohibition Museum Reviews
The American Prohibition Museum is a museum of history in Savannah, Georgia, dedicated to the era between 1850 and 1933. The museum chronicles the adoption and ultimate repeal of alcohol prohibition in United States law. From speakeasies and the Temperance Movement to rum-running and the mob, it features several highly informative and entertaining exhibitions showcasing Prohibition’s impact on American social and cultural life.
Opening hours
American Prohibition Museum To Open In Savannah Ga
The American Prohibition Museum, the first and only museum in the United States dedicated to the history of Prohibition, will open its doors to the public on Monday, May 29, 2017.
Located in historic City Market, the American Prohibition Museum will take guests back into 1900s as anti-alcohol rallies swept the United States and the booze problem was pushed into the forefront of American politics. Through immersive displays and state-of-the-art exhibits, guests will learn how Prohibition and Temperance shaped thinking and culture for more than two hundred years of American history. Carry Nation, Adolphus Busch, flappers and gangsters all come to life along with beautifully restored Prohibition era vehicles, more than 200 historic artifacts, and hi-tech immersive displays.
Before stepping out the backdoor of the museum and reentering modern day Savannah, you will find Congress Street Up, our craft cocktail speakeasy. During the daytime, the speakeasy operates as part of the museum experience, with the only entry to the speakeasy as part of the museum tour. Craft cocktails straight from Prohibition are on the menu with classics such as the Aviation, the Mary Pickford, and a Savannah classic- Chatham Artillery Punch and available during the speakeasy experience on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
For more information about the American Prohibition Museum, please contact Kayla Black, General Manager at 220-1249 or via email at kblack@historictours.com.
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Frequently Asked Questions About American Prohibition Museum
What are the Savannah Prohibition Museum hours?
The American Prohibition Museum, Savannah, Georgia, is open 364 days of the year. They are closed on Saint Patrick’s Day and reserves the right to close for private events. Operating hours vary by season. Last admittance is 45 minutes prior to closing time. Please see the operating calendar in the ticket section above for the operating hours for your selected dates.
Where is the American Prohibition Museum located?
The American Prohibition Museum is located at 209 W Saint Julian St., Savannah, GA, next to Ellis Square in the City Market and just blocks away from Robinson Parking Garage.
What is the best way to get to the museum?
The easiest access to the museum is through Old Town Trolley Tours, which operates daily. The museum is Stop 9 on their Savannah tour route, with trolleys coming through every fifteen to twenty minutes.
Where can I park?
Metered parking spaces are available in the City Market area and on Broughton Street. There are two parking garages nearby: Whitaker Street Parking Garage and Robinson Parking Garage .
Can I bring my camera?
Yes, there will be plenty of photo opportunities. Video recording is not permitted.
What’s included in my American Prohibition Museum ticket?Can I bring food and drink into the museum?
No food and drink is allowed in the museum, until past the point of the Speakeasy. Only drinks purchased in the Speakeasy will be allowed in the subsequent galleries.
Is the museum pet friendly?
American Prohibition Museum Exhibits
The American Prohibition Museum is displayed across two floors in Savannahs City Market, in what was formerly a retail space and apartment. Seven cities were initially considered to locate the new museum, with Savannah said to have won out due to its history as the first site of prohibition.
A series of galleries outline the events leading up to Prohibition, experiences during the Prohibition period, and its history through to its repeal.
Exhibits explore the activities of the Temperance League and others in favor of the ban on alcohol, and the passing of the 18th Amendment. Other displays concern the people who resisted the regulation of drink by illicitly manufacturing, transporting and selling alcohol during the Prohibition years .
Other galleries examine additional aspects of Prohibition through the 20s until the birth of NASCAR and the end of Prohibition in 1933, with exhibits on flappers and other characters from the age, and a recreated saloon.
On display are hundreds of historic artifacts, many of them locally sourced. Artifacts include a variety of early-20th-century bottles, examples of the alchohol-free goods sold by reinvented alcohol manufacturers in the 1920s, posters, newspapers and photographs, weapons, clothing, and several vintage vehicles, including a Model T Ford .
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How To Get There
The American Prohibition Museum is located at 209 West Saint Julian St., in Savannah. The most convenient way to reach the museum is to drive parking is available at the nearby Robinson Parking Garage. You can also book a trolley tour or Seway tour of the area or try the regional bike share serviceknown as CAT Bike.
A Museum Where You Can Drink Aint That Swell
Alcohol was outlawed and drinking was kept on the hush-hush but that doesnt mean it didnt happen. At Congress Street Up, the museums twenties-era speakeasy, youll enjoy delicious craft cocktails served with a side of history. All cocktails, beers, and wines can trace their origins back to prohibition and you can learn to make them yourself by reserving a private cocktail class.
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Exploring The Historic District By Trolley
For a hassle-free afternoon exploring Savannah’s picturesque Historic District, opt for a hop-on hop-off trolley tour. Since most tours include about a dozen stops, you can expect to pass many of Savannah’s must-see attractions, such as Lafayette Square, the open-air City Market on Bryan Street, and the American Prohibition Museum. Combo deals that include discounted admission to nearby museums offer a particularly good value.
Reasons To Visit Our Museum
- Not Your Average Dry Museum step back in time to a wild era of flappers, bootlegging, and gangsters.
- Learn the history behind the iconic V8 and how it led to the birth of NASCAR.
- Explore the stories of Al Capone, Scarface, and the other historical gangsters of Prohibition.
- View confiscated items from mobsters and 200+ Prohibition-Era artifacts.
- Discover why Savannah was referred to as the Bootleg Spigot of the South.
- Slip into our Speakeasy to enjoy authentic craft cocktails.
- Zagat rated Congress Street Up Speakeasy One Of The Hottest Bars In Savannah.
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Touring The Prohibition Museum In Savannah Georgia
When you think of the first English settlements in the USA, you think of Jamestown and Williamsburg, but the one that really thrived and became a true city is Savannah, Georgia. Since Savannah was around from almost the beginning and stayed a city all that time, it has been through every bright and dark time in American history, including the sad experiment where it became illegal to drink alcohol. You can really soak up the history of this dark periodand have a drink at the end tooat the American Prohibition Museum.
Ive read plenty about the period of 1920 to 1933 in American history. This was when lots of aggressive Protestant bible thumpers who were a loud minority got their way and managed to get alcohol consumption banned nationwide, instead of in just a few dry counties or states. All kinds of fringe allies joined them, including the patent medicine companies that could still put alcohol in their bottles, as well as the KKK.
Most people now know that the unintended consequences of this move had far more dramatic effects than a hoped-for reduction in drinking ever could. Sincebig surprisepeople were going to find a way to drink anyway, organized crime jumped in to fill the void and their coffers swelled. Powerful gangs vying for territory made big cities more violent. The Coast Guard had to get destroyer ships from the Navy to try to combat the huge swell in rum runner boats bringing booze in from Canada and the Caribbean.
Today Savannah Is Known For Its Lively Bar Scene Free
However, in 1908, Georgia became a dry state, fueling the bootlegging and rumrunning industry. In 1919, the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcohol passed nationally. This could have spelled the end of cocktail parties and spirits for Georgias First City.
Luckily, appearances can be deceiving. The alcohol-induced fun simply moved underground into secret speakeasies. Fringed flappers gyrated to live jazz, and gangsters sipped on moonshine behind password-protected doors.
The American Prohibition Museum in Savannah is the only prohibition museum in the nation. It invites guests to join in the fun of this bygone era, meet the rumrunners and hear first-hand accounts of life in the Roaring 20s from the most infamous mobsters of the age.
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Savannah Old Town Trolley Tours
The extraordinary architecture, lush botanicals, and captivating stories of this historic, coastal city make for an unforgettable vacation experience. For over 30 years, Old Town Trolley Tours has provided sightseeing tours highlighting the best attractions in Savannah. Hop aboard one of our trolleys and youll experience Transportainment, a delightful combination of transportation and entertainment. Our friendly conductors narrate the tour with a fascinating and fun mix of trivia and humorous stories. It will be our pleasure to guide you through Georgias First City on one of our orange and green trolleys.
Our Savannah tours are the best way to see the city. Because we cover the entire city, you can avoid costly parking and city driving. We also encourage you to tour at your own pace. Our tour offers on and off privileges, which allows you to hop off the trolley and explore on your own at any time. With frequent pickups at all our stops, this helps you avoid walking long distances.
The American Prohibition Museum
Located in Savannahs City Market, it is the first and only one of its kind in the United States. While here, guests will have the opportunity to experience life in America through the earliest rumblings of Temperance through the unintended consequences that the 13 years of Prohibition caused.
The Museum offers state-of-the-art exhibits, immersive dioramas, rare historic memorabilia and artifacts, and even a Speakeasy. It will cover the time period from when Georgia went dry in 1907 until Prohibitions national repeal in 1933.
Through immersive displays and state-of-the-art dioramas, Museum goers will learn how Prohibition and Temperance shaped thinking and culture for more than 200 years of American history.
Exhibits displaying multiple dioramas allow guests to journey through time and walk into historical scenes such as:
- Spirited America: A History of Drinking in the United States
- Wets vs. Dries: Prohibition through the Centuries
- The Fury of Temperance
- Hatchetations! Carry Nations Axe-Wielding War on Saloons
- Last Call for Alcohol The 18th Amendment Bars the Bars
Experience a one-of-a-kind attraction when you visit Savannah!
Inherent risks to COVID-19 exist in any place where people are gathered. By using our services, you voluntarily assume all risks rising out of or resulting from exposure to COVID-19 or any other communicable illness.
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All General Admission Tickets Cover Entry Into The American Prohibition Museum And The Congress Street Up Speakeasy
Select ticket packages include a drink ticket for those 21 and over with ID. There are no age restrictions to the museum. The American Prohibition Museum is a great way for the whole family to learn about a fascinating chapter in American history.
The American Prohibition Museum, located at 209 W. St. Julian Street in City Market, is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with last entry at 4:15 p.m. For more information or to schedule a group tour, visit americanprohibitionmuseum.com or call 551-4054.
The Museum Invites To Explore A Massive Collection Of Stills And To Get A Brief Lesson On Alcohol
Next, a gallery of tommy guns and mobster memorabilia used by the likes of Al Capone and Scarface showcases the organized crime culture of the age and brings guests face-to-face with Americas original gangsters. Their getaway cars, including a Model T-Ford and Peerless, are on display, as well as the glamorous frocks, feathers and fringed looks made famous by the quintessential flapper Clara Bow.
We are blessed to receive positive reviews every day, Black shares. Many people say that the American Prohibition Museum is one of the best experiences theyve had visiting Savannah.
The Congress Street Up Speakeasy is a fully functioning bar. It boasts a tin ceiling, jazz music and bartenders in period garb. It serves 15 prohibition-era cocktails, with the eighteenth-century Chatham Artillery Punch being the most popular offering. Other favorites include the Brown Derby, crafted from bourbon and grapefruit juice. The French 75, featuring a mixture of gin, lemon juice and champagne is also popular.
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Opened In May 2017 The Museum Was Curated And Created By Historic Tours Of America The Countrys Largest Privately Owned Heritage Tourism Company
They hand-selected the Hostess City to be the home of this one-of-a-kind experience. The nearly 6,000-square-foot museum features 13 galleries, four vintage cars, a theater and the full-service, period-inspired Congress Street Up Speakeasy.
Savannah has wonderful museums and stunning house museums, but the American Prohibition Museum is unlike any other museum experience in the area, says American Prohibition Museum Director Kayla Black. Its completely interactive and immersive, using technology to tell the story about prohibition in America.
Self-guided tours start with an exhibit on the temperance movement, complete with a life-size figure of the hatchet-wielding radical Carry Nation, who was arrested over 30 times for vandalizing saloons. Costumed docents are also on hand to answer questions.
Things To Know Before You Go
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History and cocktail aficionados will appreciate the American Prohibition Museum.
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To avoid the hassle of ticket lines, plan to pre-book admission online.
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For a great value, but a ticket that includes a complimentary drink at Congress Street Upthe museum’s prohibition-style bar.
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Design and advertising fans shouldn’t miss the Temperance Movement exhibit, which is full of vintage ephemera and old propaganda posters.
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The Only Museum In The Usa Dedicated To The Story Of Prohibition Has Opened In Savannah Georgia
The American Prohibition Museum is not your typical dry museum and tells the story of the era from gangsters to rum runners and some of Americas most infamous troublemakers.
- The American Prohibition Museum
- The American Prohibition Museum
- The American Prohibition Museum
In the interactive museum, which features 20 intoxicating exhibits, visitors will learn about Savannahs role in the Temperance Movement towards Prohibition during the 1920s and 1930s and how it became known as the Bootleg Spigot of the South.
- The American Prohibition Museum
- The American Prohibition Museum
- The American Prohibition Museum
The museum leaves no glass empty as it explains the Temperance Movement and the propaganda used to vote America dry, the turbulent consequences of the passing of the 18th amendment, and even how the role of women changed because of the legislation.
The highlight of the museum is visiting the authentic speakeasy, only accessible by password, where the bartenders teach visitors how to make classic Prohibition cocktails whilst revealing the history behind every pour.
Entry to the museum costs $12.84 for adults and $9.63 for children. Tickets include entrance to the speakeasy and with a valid ID, a drink ticket can be purchased for $8.
For more information on the America Prohibition Museum, visit AmericanProhibitionMuseum.com, or contact Erica Backus with Visit Savannah at 912.644.6405 or .
