The bar that would become the preeminent drinking destination for scores of undergrads (and at times the underaged) began as Kamerer’s Annex in 1933.
You can read a bit of the history of the space, and it’s transition from a luncheonette to the Home of the Drinking Illini on the U of I Beta website.
KAMS is celebrating the anniversary on Saturday, February 11th in conjunction with the Illinois-Rutgers basketball game, with giveaways, commemorative pint glasses, and more nostalgic merch. A photographer will be taking photos to create a new piece of wallpaper for the bar.
I have to say that my memories of my times at KAMS are a fuzzy blob of sticky floors, shots of Goldschlager, and people sweating on me while Tubthumping blasted in my ears. But I’m sure that I had some fun.