This Irish Pub In Washington Was Built Over Thousands Of Bodies And A Working Embalming Room

You walk into this Washington pub expecting the usual. Dark wood.

Whiskey. Maybe some live music.

Then you hear the story. The building sits on land that was once a cemetery.

Thousands of bodies buried below. And in the basement, a fully intact embalming room that is still there, still functional, still used as storage. The staff tells the story like it is normal.

They have heard the footsteps. Seen the shadows.

Felt the cold spots. I ordered a beer and tried not to think about what was under my feet.

The pub is cozy. The drinks are good.

But the history is unsettling. Washington has plenty of bars with character.

This one has bodies. Lots of them.

The Butterworth Building: Seattle’s Most Storied Address

Not many restaurants can claim their address comes with a century of dark history baked into the brickwork. The Butterworth Building was constructed in 1903, purpose-built to serve as Butterworth and Son’s Mortuary, and at the time it was considered one of the most complete establishments of its kind anywhere in the United States.

That is a bold claim for any building, let alone one that would eventually become a beloved Irish pub.

The structure sits at 1916 Post Alley, tucked just off the main stretch near Pike Place Market. It does not scream “former mortuary” from the outside, which somehow makes it even more interesting.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, giving it an official stamp of significance that goes well beyond its current role as a food and music venue.

The McAleese family opened Kells in the basement in 1983, transforming a space that once stored funeral wagons into a warm, lively gathering spot. That contrast, from death to celebration, is exactly what makes this place feel so layered and worth visiting.

Thousands of Bodies and the Mortuary That Handled Them

During nearly two decades of operation, Butterworth and Son’s Mortuary handled a staggering number of bodies. The mortuary opened during the diphtheria epidemic in the early 1900s, and it was already running at full capacity when the 1918 influenza pandemic swept through Seattle.

Industrial accidents and ship disasters added to the count, making this building a quiet witness to some of the city’s most tragic chapters.

That weight of history is not something you can just paint over or renovate away. It seeps into the atmosphere in a way that feels oddly respectful rather than morbid.

Knowing that the building served such a serious civic function for so long makes sitting inside Kells feel surprisingly meaningful.

The original configuration included an embalming room on the main floor facing First Avenue. A manager has reportedly mentioned occasionally catching a faint scent of formaldehyde, which is either a fascinating historical echo or a very good reason to trust your nose.

Either way, the mortuary’s legacy is inseparable from what makes Kells such a compelling destination in Seattle.

The Embalming Room and What Lies Beneath

The basement of the Butterworth Building has sparked plenty of local legend over the years. Some stories link the lower level to embalming and cremation activity, while a historical account from 1904 suggests the basement was actually used for the heating plant, stables, and storage for funeral wagons.

The truth is probably somewhere in between, and honestly, the ambiguity only adds to the intrigue.

What is not ambiguous is that the building’s lower level now houses Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub, and it has done so since 1983. The McAleese family transformed that underground space into something genuinely warm and welcoming.

Exposed brick, low lighting, and the sound of live music replace whatever once echoed through those walls.

There is something almost poetic about the way the space has been reclaimed. A place once associated with the end of life now hosts birthday celebrations, live Irish music sessions, and family lunches.

Visitors frequently comment on how the atmosphere feels both cozy and charged with something harder to name. That unnamed quality is probably history doing what it does best: refusing to be completely forgotten.

The First Elevator on the West Coast Had a Dark Purpose

Here is a fact that tends to stop people mid-conversation: the Butterworth Building was home to the first elevator on the West Coast. That sounds like a proud engineering milestone until you learn what it was primarily used for.

The elevator was installed to transport bodies between floors, which reframes the achievement in a way that is hard to shake.

It is a strange kind of historical footnote, the kind that makes you pause and think about how progress and necessity have always been tangled together. Seattle in the early 1900s was a rapidly growing city, and a mortuary operating at that scale needed practical solutions.

A multi-story building handling thousands of bodies required efficient movement, and so the elevator was born out of grim necessity.

Kells does not make a theatrical show of this detail, which is part of what makes the pub feel grounded rather than gimmicky. The history is simply there, embedded in the structure, available to anyone curious enough to look it up or ask.

That kind of quiet confidence in a place’s own story is rare, and it makes the experience of visiting feel genuinely rewarding rather than performative.

Ghost Stories, Apparitions, and Unexplained Phenomena

Kells Irish Pub has earned a serious reputation as one of Seattle, Washington’s most haunted spots, and the stories attached to it are not the vague, hand-wavy kind. Staff and patrons have reported glasses breaking without being touched, handprints appearing on windows from the inside, mirrors shattering on their own, and the sound of footsteps in empty areas of the building.

These are specific, repeated accounts that span decades.

Two figures appear most frequently in the reported sightings. A young red-headed girl has been seen by multiple visitors over the years, her presence calm but unmistakable.

An older gentleman known as Charlie, believed to have been a former mortician, reportedly makes himself known in quieter corners of the pub.

The pub has been featured on the television show Ghost Adventures, which brought a wider audience to the already well-established local lore. Whether or not you believe in paranormal activity, there is something undeniably atmospheric about a place with this much reported history.

Sitting in Kells after dark, with the music low and the lighting warm, it is easy to understand why people keep seeing things they cannot quite explain.

The Food, the Atmosphere, and the Everyday Magic of Kells

Beyond the ghost stories and the mortuary history, Kells is genuinely a great place to eat. The menu leans into Irish pub classics with real commitment.

Shepherd’s pie, sausage rolls, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and a baked brie that has developed something of a loyal following among regulars all make appearances. The food feels hearty and honest, the kind of meal you actually remember.

The atmosphere deserves its own mention. Visitors consistently describe the interior as warm and inviting, with a lived-in quality that feels earned rather than manufactured.

It never feels like a theme park version of an Irish pub. The staff often include people with genuine Irish connections, and that authenticity comes through in the way the place is run.

Live music is a regular feature, and it adds a layer of energy that transforms the space entirely. On a good night, with music filling the room and the smell of food coming from the kitchen, the building’s darker history feels like just one part of a much richer story.

Kells manages to be both a genuinely good restaurant and one of Seattle’s most fascinating historical landmarks at the same time.

Post Alley and the Neighborhood That Surrounds Kells

Post Alley itself is one of those Seattle spots that rewards slow exploration. Running parallel to Pike Place Market, it is a narrow, atmospheric stretch of brick and character that feels removed from the busier tourist flow just a block away.

Finding Kells tucked into this alley feels like a small discovery, even if you already knew exactly where you were going.

The location is genuinely convenient for anyone spending time around the market. It is close enough to feel connected to the Pike Place energy but set back enough to feel like its own world.

Outdoor seating is available for warmer days, and sitting outside with a view of the alley while the market hums nearby is a particularly pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

The neighborhood has changed considerably since 1903, but Post Alley has retained a kind of stubborn charm that resists full modernization. Kells fits naturally into that character.

The pub does not try to compete with the flashier spots nearby. It simply exists, confidently and consistently, as one of the most interesting addresses in a city that has no shortage of interesting addresses.

Why Kells Deserves a Spot on Every Seattle Itinerary

There are plenty of places in Seattle that claim to be one-of-a-kind, and most of them are stretching the truth. Kells is genuinely different.

It combines a legitimate historical narrative, a paranormal reputation backed by decades of reported experiences, and an actual restaurant that people return to year after year for the food alone. That combination is almost impossible to find anywhere else.

The pub holds a 4.3-star rating across more than two thousand reviews, which reflects consistent quality rather than a single viral moment. Regulars talk about it with real affection.

First-time visitors tend to leave with plans to come back. That kind of loyalty is built slowly, through good experiences repeated over time.

Kells is open most days from late morning well into the night, making it accessible for lunch crowds, evening visitors, and everyone in between. Live music nights bring a completely different energy to the space, and the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have become something of a Seattle institution.

For anyone visiting the city and looking for a place that offers history, atmosphere, great food, and a genuine story, Kells is an easy and enthusiastic recommendation.

Address: 1916 Post Alley, Seattle, Washington