Goodnight, sweet prince.

McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon: St. Patrick’s Day, 2003 – January 6th, 2015

McFadden’s Saloon, Foggy Bottom’s beacon of class, responsible drinking, and body shots, closed its doors last week after five people were stabbed on the evening of December 27th. It was just shy of twelve years old.

McFadden’s was born more than a decade ago on Pennsylvania Avenue NW and lived out its life at that location, where generations of inebriated George Washington University students came to make out with each other, only to forget about it 20 minutes later and move on to someone else.

It was a loving and faithful companion to some GWU students who frequented the bar mainly on Tuesday nights, when, for whatever reason, it was not completely terrible. Any other night and the bar became “sketchy,” as many a GWU alum will tell you. But McFadden’s was generous, offering dollar beers and rail drinks to the blossoming academics. The name was uttered with the utmost respect, in memories such as “I made out with a girl at McFadden’s last night who I had one class with three years ago. She’s not that hot, but whatever. It’s McFadden’s,” or “Totally failed my exam this morning. Thanks, McFadden’s.”

One could grind the night away to Top 40 and early 00’s hits, slam down watered-down shots at the bar, watch live “midget-wrestling,” avoid the Ghosts of Frat Parties Past, or wonder how they got sucked in to attending their friend’s “free happy hour” again, all within the expansive, dark, and constantly damp basement of this beacon of class. The bar’s notorious shittiness briefly rose to national attention in 2010 as it was frequented by the cast of The Real World D.C., and also notably overcame public shame and infamy after a libelous publication named it the “Douchiest Bar in D.C.”

McFadden’s is survived by its morning-after counterpart, the GW Deli. Goodnight, sweet prince.