The Sandpiper Tavern

This is the former bar where serial killer Ted Bundy met his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer.

It is situated at 722 NE 45th Street in Seattle, Washington.

At the time, it was called the Sandpiper Tavern. Later, it became the Rainbow Tavern and the Fusion Ultra Lounge.

In March 2015, the Fusion Ultra Lounge permanently closed after a shooting at the nightclub left two teenagers in the hospital.

Since then, the property has been refurbished and refitted. These days, it is home to a brewery and taproom called Ladd & Lass Brewing.

On Friday, September 26th, 1969, Kloepfer and her friend, Marylynne Chino, were having drinks in the Sandpiper Tavern in the University District of Seattle.

It was Kloepfer's first night out since she moved to the city with her 3-year-old daughter, Molly.

That evening, Chino noticed that a man on the other side of the bar kept glancing over at Kloepfer.

The man in question was Ted Bundy.

Later that night, Bundy approached Kloepfer and asked her to dance. Feeling flattered, she said yes. Following the dance, Bundy went back to sitting at the bar by himself.

For a while, she waited for Bundy to approach her again. However, after some time passed and he failed to do so, she decided to walk across the bar and strike up a conversation with him.

The pair hit it off immediately, and Bundy ended up spending the night at her place. However, his stay that night was "platonic", as she was so drunk that she fell asleep with her clothes on.

The next morning, she woke up to find Bundy making breakfast with her daughter, Molly.

From that point on, Kloepfer and Bundy dated "on-and-off" for about five or six years.

Although Bundy frequently stayed at her place, he continued living at his apartment in the Rogers rooming house. He also saw other women at certain points. For example, Kloepfer told detectives that Bundy dated a coworker from the Mental Health Center for a couple of weeks in 1972.

In December 1973, he became engaged to an ex-girlfriend called Diane Edwards. This engagement occurred while he was still in a relationship with Kloepfer.

His relationship with Kloepfer came under considerable strain in 1974, as he started acting differently and going missing for days at a time. That summer, she noticed that his libido was nonexistent and accused him of having an affair.

Significantly, this was the same year that he started murdering women.

In September 1974, Bundy moved to a new apartment in Utah so that he could attend law school. Although the couple "officially" remained together, their relationship was at a breaking point. During his stay in Utah, Bundy had a fling with a female tenant at his rooming house. At the same time, Kloepfer was also beginning to suspect that her boyfriend was involved in the disappearances of local women.

In 1975, Bundy briefly moved back in with Kloepfer while he was awaiting trial for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch. However, by that stage, investigators had become certain that he was responsible for the murders of multiple women. As a result, Kloepfer's house was kept under heavy police surveillance.

Photos

Photos of the bar and other related images.

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