Cincinnati's oldest continuously operating bar (established 1861) in an 1830s building, host to annual public paranormal investigations and a Prohibition-era bathtub gin legend.
210 E 8th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Age
21+
Cost
$$
Standard restaurant pricing; menu features Italian-American fare. Public paranormal investigations are ticketed separately and run each October.
Access
Limited Access
Historic 1830s building with narrow stairs to second-floor Bathtub Room; ground-floor bar and dining accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1838 · Oldest Continuously Operating Bar in Cincinnati · Prohibition-Era Bathtub Gin Distillation · Italianate 1830s Building · Arnold Family Three-Generation Ownership 1861-1959
The Arnold's building dates to the 1830s and originally housed a feather merchant on the ground floor. According to Cincinnati historian Mike Morgan as quoted by CityBeat, the building was first opened by Susan Fawcett in 1838 in another use entirely before transitioning. In 1861, new owner Simon Arnold converted the ground floor into a saloon and moved his family into the upstairs residence. The bar has operated continuously at the address ever since, making it the oldest continuously operating bar in Cincinnati.
Simon Arnold's son Hugo Arnold took over around 1900 and added the adjacent building to allow a separate entrance and room set aside for women, who at the time were not permitted in the main bar room. During Prohibition (1920-1933) Hugo's son Elmer Arnold pivoted to food service and is widely reported to have continued distilling bootleg gin in a bathtub on the second floor; the second-floor room is still known as the Bathtub Room. A false floor beneath the tub is said to have allowed the operation to be hidden in case of a raid.
The Arnold family operated the business for ninety-eight years across three generations until 1959, after which a series of owners maintained the bar's identity and historic decor. Ronda Breeden, a longtime Arnold's server, purchased the business in 1998 with her son Chris Breeden; in 2019 Chris and Bethany Breeden assumed full ownership.
Arnold's appears in Wikipedia, Cincinnati Magazine, the Encyclopedia of American Folklore, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's American Treasures of the Bar circuit. It has hosted multiple national-press features on its longevity, its Italian-American kitchen, and its annual paranormal investigations.
Sources
Owner Ronda Breeden, employees, and Cornerstone Paranormal report multiple identified spirits at Arnold's, with the most active area being the second-floor Bathtub Room. According to CityBeat and WCPO, the bar's best-known spirit is Steve Black, a beloved Arnold's chef who became ill and died in 2012. Cornerstone Paranormal investigators have reported identifying Steve's presence on different occasions months apart, describing him as a white-sweater-clad figure seen outside the building or as a sensed presence moving back and forth between the kitchen and the bar - the same routine he performed in life.
A second recurring presence is associated with the Bathtub Room and identified by ghost-tour narrative as a Prohibition-era 'bathtub gin' bootlegger. A false floor beneath the tub is part of the room's documented Prohibition-era construction and the bootlegger figure is tied to that history rather than to a named individual.
In 2017 Arnold's allowed Cornerstone Paranormal to conduct formal investigations of staff and patron paranormal claims. Founders Howard and Theresa Campbell of Cornerstone emphasize that they treat investigations as evidence-driven rather than open-ended ghost hunting; they have published photographs, EVP recordings, and equipment-driven evidence from the building. Since 2019 Arnold's has hosted public paranormal investigation nights each October with Cornerstone Paranormal and POV Paranormal.
Reported phenomena include the apparition of Steve Black described above, footsteps and door movements upstairs after hours, voice EVPs captured during investigations, and patrons reporting sudden cold sensations near the Bathtub Room. Coverage by Fox19, WCPO, and Cincinnati CityBeat anchors the modern reputation; the bar has not appeared on national paranormal television.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Full Italian-American menu served in Cincinnati's oldest bar, in an 1830s building featuring the famous second-floor Bathtub Room with Prohibition-era tub said to have been used for bootleg gin distillation.
Each October Arnold's hosts ticketed public paranormal investigations with Cornerstone Paranormal and POV Paranormal, focusing on the second-floor Bathtub Room and the kitchen-to-bar route associated with former chef Steve Black.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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