Tales of the Table · Tales of the Table
Sjallinn Ísafirði (Uppsalir) (1939–2005) – Lost Tables
The house at Hafnarstræti 12 was built around 1930 and in the 1920s and 30s was known as Uppsalir, first a café and then Hótel Uppsalir. In 1937 the Independence Party associations of the Westfjords bought it, added a large hall and opened it in spring 1939 as Sjálfstæðishúsið – a restaurant, dance
The house at Hafnarstræti 12 was built around 1930 and in the 1920s and 30s was known as Uppsalir, first a café and then Hótel Uppsalir. In 1937 the Independence Party associations of the Westfjords bought it, added a large hall and opened it in spring 1939 as Sjálfstæðishúsið – a restaurant, dance hall and meeting place that later took the nickname Sjallinn, after the famous Akureyri venue. In 1979 members of the BG flokkurinn band leased it and revived the name Uppsalir, booking acts such as Utangarðsmenn, Grafík, HLH-flokkurinn and Friðryk, and in 1985 a licensed restaurant opened. In the 1990s the biggest dance bands in the country – Sálin hans Jóns míns, Skítamórall, Írafár and Á móti sól – kept the floor full, while Pizza 67 downstairs was a local favourite. The last dances were held in autumn 2005; the building then served as a youth centre and later as shops.
Youth centre, later shops
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