HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Paso Robles' oldest building, a former bordello on old skid row where night-vision cameras catch lamps and a vacuum moving on their own
1234 Pine St, Paso Robles, CA 93446
Research updated June 2026
Age
21+
Cost
$
No cover; standard bar pricing for drinks. The interior and its ghost displays are open during business hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Single-story 19th-century commercial building on a downtown sidewalk.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1857 · Cited as the oldest building in downtown Paso Robles · Former saloon, stagecoach stop, and bordello
Paso Robles grew up around the hot springs and the El Paso de Robles Rancho, and one of its founders was Drury James, an uncle of the outlaws Frank and Jesse James. That family connection is woven into local lore about the Pine Street Saloon, which sits on a block that 19th-century residents called skid row.
The building is generally described as the oldest in downtown Paso Robles, with a date around 1857. Across its history it functioned as a saloon, a stagecoach stop, and a bordello, and Pine Street itself hosted Saturday horse races for the town. Regional accounts tie the James brothers to the area through their uncle Drury, though specific claims of visits by Frank or Jesse belong to oral tradition rather than documented record.
The saloon has operated continuously as a drinking establishment into the present day. Owner Ron French has leaned into the building's reputation, installing night-vision cameras and keeping a public archive of footage he says shows unexplained movement inside the closed bar. The Paso Robles Daily News and the San Luis Obispo County Visitors Guide have both covered the saloon's history and its standing as a downtown landmark, and the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance lists it among the area's haunted sites.
Sources
The reported activity at the Pine Street Saloon centers on objects that move when the bar is closed and empty. Guests and staff describe pans falling in the kitchen and items shifting position overnight. Owner Ron French set up night-vision cameras in the building's corridor and has published footage he describes as showing particles that glow and travel through the room, along with a lamp and an old vacuum cleaner that appear to move across the floor when no one is present.
The saloon drew national paranormal-television attention twice. The Travel Channel's The Dead Files featured the building, and Ghost Adventures filmed an episode there titled 'Panic on Pine Street,' which aired on the Discovery+ platform. In that episode, host Zak Bagans framed the activity around an entity he called 'the Old Hag,' and the program described the reported phenomena as intense enough that staff and guests said they did not feel at ease on the premises.
The building's bordello-era past and its skid-row location feed the lore, but the specific accounts trace to the venue's own records, the television investigations, and regional reporting rather than to documented historical events.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Drop in during business hours to drink at the bar reputed to be the oldest building in downtown Paso Robles, c. 1857. Owner Ron French keeps night-vision footage of the saloon's anomalies and is happy to talk about the building's bordello-era past and its appearances on Ghost Adventures and The Dead Files. No cover charge; 21-and-over.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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