A hundred and twenty years of last calls
Every bar in LA claims history. We have the liquor license to prove it.
Golden Gopher opened in 1905 as the Golden Sun Saloon — the oldest bar in Los Angeles, with a liquor license so old it's grandfathered into things no other bar in town gets to do. Like selling you a bottle on your way out the door. A century later, its rebirth kicked off the downtown nightlife renaissance, and the trademark neon out front has been a beacon for the neighborhood ever since.
How we got here
- 1905
Doors open as the Golden Sun Saloon. Legend has it President Theodore Roosevelt helped secure the liquor license — one of the oldest in Los Angeles, and still the one on the wall.
- 1900s–90s
Downtown booms, empties, and waits. The bar keeps pouring through all of it, package license intact — a corner of 8th Street that never stopped being a bar.
- 2004
Reborn as Golden Gopher: gopher lamps, gold-felted pool table, chandeliers over brick. The bar that kicked off DTLA's nightlife renaissance.
- 2018
Taylor Swift films "Delicate" here and the regulars have to share the booths with pilgrims for a while. It's Always Sunny shoots here too. Everyone behaves.
- Today
Open nightly, 365. Neighborhood locals, after-work crews, show-goers and out-of-towners, shoulder to shoulder — and a bottle to go on the way out.
Things the regulars know
- One of the oldest liquor licenses in Los Angeles — legend says Teddy Roosevelt helped secure it in 1905.
- The grandfathered license is why you can buy a bottle on your way out. "Liquor Here, Liquor To Go" — the neon means it.
- Taylor Swift filmed "Delicate" here. It's Always Sunny filmed here too. The neon has an agent.
- The gopher lamps are original fixtures. Do not ask to buy them. People ask.
- The jukebox is CDs, curated by the team. High energy, no bummers.
- The pool table felt is gold. Obviously.
Downtown's living room
Weeknights are neighborhood nights — regulars, date nights, after-work crews from the towers. Weekends bring day drinkers, party crowds, and everyone getting ready for a show or a game a few blocks away. For a lot of downtown, we're the last stop of the night. We take that seriously.
- Open nightly, 365 — holidays included
- Happy hour priced for people who actually live here
- A patio, a pool table and a jukebox — no cover, ever
- Part of Pouring with Heart: for each other
Look around before you come by
- SFGATEOn the rare bar/package-liquor combo, the Swifties, and the ghosts
- The InfatuationDTLA bar guide mainstay
- Time OutBest bars in Downtown LA
- Discover Los AngelesHistoric LA bars