Duda’s tavern, located at 1600 Thames St., is one of the many buildings in Fells Point that have been around for more than a century. It has been many things before becoming a bar and holds a lot of history.
Duda’s History
The building that is now Duda’s was built originally for sailors. The corners of the building were rounded out due to the sailors belief that evil spirits were hiding in them. The place was first documented to be Union hotel in the 1850s. In the 1880s it was the Maryland Bay Pilots Association headquarters and then was a rooming house. The building finally became a bar once the prohibition ended and was opened as Duda’s in 1949 by Walter Duda. The business was taken over by Walter’s wife and son after Walter was killed by a drunk cab driver on the steps of Duda’s. The bar was taken over by Walter’s daughter and son-in-law in the 1970s which is when the place started serving food.
Doc
Dudas has one known spirit named Doc. Doc was a man that once lived in the upstairs apartment and enjoyed playing polka music on the jukebox. Doc passed away in 1980 with no known family. The bar owners wanted to pour Doc