Pastime Pool Hall

Pastime Pool Hall. (Block 36; Lot 11). , This venerable building has a long and colorful history as a Whitefish watering place and entertainment center. Called the Dodge House when it was built in 1903, it eventually became known as the Pastime bar, a name it retained for many years, until it was renamed the Bulldog Saloon (in honor of the Whitefish Bulldog high school athletic teams) in the early 1980's. As of 2002, it remained the Bulldog, a flamboyantly decorated sports bar.

In the teen years of the twentieth century, the building was called Houston's Hall, after Dr. Houston, a railroad physician and surgeon who had offices on the second floor. The medical offices later were occupied by other doctors. Occasionally used for boxing matches over the years, the second floor also served as an early meeting place for Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star. The space later fell into disrepair and was used for storage of city Christmas decorations and other items.

Meanwhile the main business survived Prohibition by selling soft drinks, cigars and fruit and offering billiards and pool tables for the recreation of locals, many of them railroaders. In 1933, the Whitefish Pilot reported that a beer license had been issued to J.L. Akey, the new owner of the Pastime. The Akey family was associated with the Pastime for some fifty years. Earl and Jacqueline (Akey) Schommer were the last of the family to run the establishment, and after another ownership change, it was purchased by Linda and Buck May.