The AT&T payphone on the right side of the doorway leading into a room full of beer kegs dialed up some memories.

"It still works," said Dan Lean, the owner of the Beach Tavern for the past 35 years.

"People call in and we answer."

Established just a half-a-year after Prohibition ended in this country, Charles Porter, the first owner, opened the doors of the tavern in April of 1934.

Those doors have remained that way for the past 82 years.  During that time the building was enlarged a bit, but as a whole it has remained pretty much the same.

This classic of a tavern at the far west end of Sixth Avenue is situated just up from Titlow Beach and damn near on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks.

If one doesn't mind the occasional freight train rolling and rumbling by, the sea smell of Puget Sound, the sounds of the sea gulls and the blue-collar feel of the neighborhood and its people, you've just dialed up one of Tacoma's historic treasures.

"Ferry boat workers, the men who worked on the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge and railroad engineers, used to come in here," added Lead.

On the walls are pictures from the past, capturing a part of Tacoma's history.

"We're one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tacoma," continued Lean, as he walked and talked about some of the photographs from days gone by.

One of the images was of the building of the First Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.  The structure made history when a windstorm blew the bridge into the Narrows.

"We are the other waterfront in Tacoma," Lean continued.  "We've got a pretty good grasp of some of Tacoma's past."

It also has a hand on the heart of many of the people who live in the neighborhood.

"Noone famous has come in here that I can recall," said Lean.  "But a lot of good people from around here do."

Ken Vandenberg agreed.

"I've been coming in here at least once a week for the past fifteen years," said the retiree.

"And when I was working I used to stop in here all the time for the coffee," he added as he sipped his beer.

A bright brass diving helmet hangs over the bar, which is well stocked.  The bar, dining area and floors are clean; a pool table beckons.

Word is that the tavern's fish and chips and burgers are to die for.

"The food here is great," commented Linda Sweigart, the bar's manager, as she set the day's menu.

"I'm a lifer here; I've been here for thirty years; and this is a great neighborhood and place in which to work."

It's also a great place to visit.

The Beach Tavern is located at 8612 Sixth Avenue in Tacoma. For more information, visit thebeachtavern.com, or call 253.564.9984.  

Someone will answer that old AT&T payphone.