With the recent and forthcoming disappearances of so many, many unsnobbily cool places on Capitol Hill, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Canterbury Ale & Eats on 15th Avenue East went away.

Unlike many other closures, though, this is not predicated on the end of its building. The Canterbury’s on the ground floor of an “affordable” apartment building run by Capitol Hill Housing. The building’s staying put. It’s just the Canterbury that’s going, when its lease expires at the end of this year.

It’s a long story that apparently has to do with a long-running dispute between CHH and Stefanie Roberge, who’s owned the Canterbury for the past 13 years.

There’s already a “Save Our Canterbury” website.

And, yes, the place is indeed worth saving.

It dates back to the mid-1970s, but was designed in that “Olde English” kitsch style popular among college-student dive bars at least a decade before that. There’s even a full suit of armor in the entryway.

The space wends its way through several adjoining rooms. These contain shuffleboard, foosball, and pool tables, and a classic arcade video game or two and a real fireplace.

The bar food is bar food, not “pub grub” or “cuisine.” The drinks are good n’ stiff. It has microbrews these days, but they’re not the focal point.

Moreover, it’s a place without airs or pretensions. Artists, students, construction workers, jocks, office clerks, nurses from nearby Group Health—all these and more can be found there on any given evening.

Let’s keep it that way.