HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1897 Bott Brothers' Buffet & Billiards turned brewery, where folklore holds Colonel Pritchard was lured into a fatal 1909 stabbing — a story even paranormal researchers admit lacks documentary proof.
161 N High Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Standard brewpub menu pricing; 21+ for the bar area.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic 1897 building with ground-floor dining
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1897 · National Register of Historic Places · Bott Brothers' Buffet & Billiards (early-20th century) · Turn-of-the-Century Saloon Architecture · Philippine Mahogany Bar
The building at 161 North High Street was erected in 1897 by the Bott family. It opened around 1905 as Bott Brothers' Buffet & Billiards — a multi-use space that combined a tavern, gentleman's saloon, and cigar shop in keeping with turn-of-the-century downtown Columbus retail patterns. The Philippine mahogany bar was hand-carved and remains in use today.
The building survived Prohibition and the postwar decline of downtown retail, and operated under several names before being restored and reopened as The Elevator Brewery & Draught Haus in 2000. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the better-preserved 1890s commercial interiors in downtown Columbus.
The Elevator operates as a brewpub with on-site brewing, a full restaurant menu, and a calendar of small private events. The historic bar, etched-glass partitions, and wood paneling are core to the restaurant's identity.
Sources
Per Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State, the Ohio Exploration Society's Elevator Brewery entry, and CBUStoday's 'Hundred-year history' feature, the building's most-circulated tale concerns Colonel Randolph Pritchard. The story goes that Pritchard, a frequent patron, was lured outside on a snowy February evening in 1909, stabbed, and stumbled back toward the tavern doorway where he died in the snow. Investigators are said to have found only the woman's bare footprints leading away — no shoes, no second set of prints. The story includes the detail that an outdoor clock stopped at 10:05 p.m., the moment of the attack.
Pritchard's ghost is said to roam the dining room, and barefoot footprints are reportedly observed in fresh snow at the entrance on February evenings around the anniversary.
At least one experienced paranormal researcher (Theresa's Haunted History) reports that she could not locate a death certificate or contemporary Columbus Dispatch coverage of a Pritchard murder in 1909 — a substantial documentation gap that suggests the underlying historical event may be largely or entirely folkloric. The entry preserves the story as folklore while flagging this evidentiary gap.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Order from the brewpub menu in the historic 1897 dining room. The hand-carved Philippine mahogany bar dates to the building's earliest days as Bott Brothers' Buffet & Billiards. A piece of Columbus paranormal folklore comes free with the experience.
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