Funhouse Makes Its Final Farewell on Halloween

Photo by Jessica Kaminski

The shadow of the Space Needle is about to become a lonelier place. This Halloween will mark the nine year anniversary of an iconic Seattle venue and the end of an era. The Funhouse opened on Halloween in 2003 and 9 years to the day will be closing its doors for good.

For almost a decade, the Funhouse has been a haven for some of the best local and touring punk rock in the Puget Sound.  The bar carved out a beloved niche as a dive bar by day and musical superhero by night.  While the Funhouse is a self-proclaimed punk bar, they supported a wide range of music. If it was good and it was loud you could probably hear it at the Funhouse.

The demise of the Funhouse has come at the hands of development. The history of the Funhouse property extends far beyond the nine years it has served Seattle’s music lovers in its current iteration. For the past 80 years that plot of land has been serving up libations to the fine people of our fair city.  But it will be quenching our thirst no more. The building will be demolished to make room for the mullet of architecture— the mixed-use building— business down front and condos upstairs.

The bar’s owner Brian Foss is hoping to continue the Funhouse’s legacy of loud music and shenanigans in a new location. The details of how, when and where the Funhouse will be resurrected are still in the planning phase.

The bar that built a reputation on being musically discerning but not discriminating underscored their perspective with their greeting of “NO BIGOTS, NO RACISTS, NO HOMOPHOBES, and NO SEXISTS.” The attitude and the ambiance —deliciously seedy— will be sadly missed. And come November 1, Seattle will have a hole in its heart where the Funhouse once loomed.

If you would like to pay your respects to the Funhouse, Wednesday, October 31 will be the final farewell. The evening will be showcasing bands featuring members who work at The Funhouse. Glenn Or Glennda?, Poop Attack, Last Gasp, The Downstrokes, Blood Orange Paradise ,Tight Lies, and CCAA are slated to play. The doors will open at 7 PM with the first band starting at 7:30 PM and the final act taking the stage at midnight. Pre-sale tickets are sold-out, but if you get there early you can snag one of the limited number of tickets available at the door.

One final note from owner Brian Foss: “The last night is NOT a destructo party.
The Funhouse is LEGALLY OBLIGATED to turn the building over to the new owners in good repair & the building must be able to be secured. So if windows/walls.etc are broken out then Bobby & myself could be financially obligated to pay for their repair or replacement. If toilets, sinks & other fixtures are pulled out them we will have to fix/replace them.”

Take a trip down memory lane with these previous posts on shows that have been held at the Funhouse.