102-year old Tobacco Road, Miami's oldest bar closed its doors for the final time last weekend.
The century-old iconic South Miami Avenue nightspot has seen the ups and downs of American history.
"The history of this bar is the history of Miami," stated Joel Rivera, Tobacco Road Manager.
"Al Capone had a secret room upstairs with a cupboard in which he kept alcohol during the Prohibition era," said Tobacco Road director of marketing James Goll.
Tobacco Road was established in 1912, more than a decade before the Prohibition began in the 1920's.
The establishment quickly gained a following until the end of the Prohibition in 1933.
The bar went through a lot of names after the Prohibition-it was converted into "The South Side Bar" in 1938 and "Charlie's Tobacco Road" in 1942, after owner Lew Cohen insisted it be named after the widely-known Erskine Caldwell novel of 1932.
Tobacco Road has gone through several changes in the past decades, with it reportedly shutting down for a short time back in 1944 when the Morals Squad of Miami Police had it closed down.
Tobacco Road closed because of rapid urban expansion and changing customer demographics and preferences in downtown Miami have endangered the speakeasy bar.
The nightspot, which got its charm and personality from the length of time it has remained open became a victim of commercialization and has started to dwindle its popularity and charm.
However, all's not lost as the bar found a new location further down the street. Rivera revealed that the new branch will be designed to "make it as similar as possible" to the original location regulars and locals have gotten accustomed to.
Furthermore, the owner was even said to transfer majority of its neon lights and décor, as well as its original doors and bartop to the new location.
