From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 16, 1974:

A fire this week had guaranteed the closing of the former Gaslight Tavern, 1941 Oread. The blaze, for which the cause was officially listed as “unknown,” had been reported at about noon on July 15. As the building was scheduled for demolition later that day, no property loss estimate was to be made. “You can stand in the basement and see the sky,” said Fire Capt. LeRoy Spence of the damage to the building. The Kansas University Endowment Association had purchased the property from Mrs. Mary Rowlands in February 1973, and the tavern had been closed and emptied of personal possessions and furnishings late on the day before the fire. Kansas University and Lawrence police, as well as fire officials, had been keeping an apprehensive eye on the building; Police Chief Richard Stanwix said he had heard rumors of a possible fire at the tavern “for 10 days…. We watched the building until 12 (midnight) then when we changed watches they got it.” Atty. Gen. Vern Miller and then-Douglas County Attorney Mike Elwell had filed an injunction in October 1971 seeking to have the Gaslight Tavern closed as a common nuisance, claiming drug sales and use in the tavern. Later, the business had been sold and the name changed to the Mt. Oread Bar and Grill, owned by George Waterman and Richard Waterman.