The original plan was for a rathskeller type establishment in the basement, music and dancing on the first floor, and a bordello above that. The UO foundation hired a series of consultants to see if this could pay back the tax-free bonds to be used to finance the whole project. All the reports said that the bordello was integral to success, given the obvious complementarity.

But state legislators balked at the idea of using tax-exempt bonds for purposes not directly related to UO’s educational mission, and scratched prostitution from the mix.

Dave went ahead with project anyway - despite opposition from a group of concerned faculty. Sure enough, after a few years it was $80,000 in the hole. The backup plan to torch the place and collect the insurance money failed when it turned out a leaky roof had filled the whole building into a pile of damp mold.

The OC archives would tell you more but Clancy’s was originally the dream project of a professor in the late ’80s who thought the UO needed a pub. It did pretty well for a few years before dying out in the ’90s. Its resurrection a decade later was way, way too short-lived and half-hearted.

It was later used as a Grab and Go for the dorm kids. Here’s hoping someone resurrects the place a second time. If the bar and the booths are still down there, it’s your best bet for bringing booze/beer to campus.

Think of the children.

opening a pub in a college union can provide a successful alternative social gathering area for students. With this positive outlook, several universities opened pubs over the years and dealt with the questions of operating hours, entertainment, and age restrictions. While these decisions may vary from college to college, most reported having a positive experience with the college union pub.

In a 2000 article about the Collier House, then-University Club President John Schellman admitted “Faculty members are quite poor businessmen.”

There are a couple articles in OC back issues outlining the history of the Collier House, and telling about how a faculty member [illegally?] took the bar from Max’s and used it for Clancy’s. I’m not completely sure, but I remember being told that the bar might still be in the basement, just sitting there, waiting to be rescued, restored and re-located to a beer-loving atmosphere where it can be enjoyed and celebrated by the University community.

Though, even when Rennie’s is busy, it’s still great.