RIP
Goodbye, Walter's...
The beloved alternative venue will bite the dust in a matter of days.

Image: Brian Reading and Morgan Kinney
Regardless of your allegiance to the punk group Anti-Flag or metalcore squad Stray from the Path, their Saturday show will be your last chance to thrash at Walter's Downtown. The just-divey-enough venue survived 16 years and a location swap across the city, but, in an abrupt Facebook post Monday evening, owner and proprietor Zachary Palmer announced that as of February 4, he will be forced to put "an important institution to rest."
Although the club kicked off a new downtown chapter at a former warehouse located at 1120 Naylor St. in 2012, the venue was originally Walter's on Washington, part of Pam Robinson's "Pamland" strip of Washington Avenue venues that included Silky’s and Mary Jane’s Fat Cat. Robinson was a huge advocate of local music, hosting performances by The Arcade Fire (yes, when they still had a "The" in the name) and supporting local mainstays such as the Tontons. Palmer, Robinson's son, took over Walter's Downtown when she died of an aggressive form of cancer in 2014.
Social media mourned the closure of one of the exceedingly few independent music venues in Houston.
Walter’s Downtown is closing and it’s making me sad. Walter’s is where I went to my first metal show. It’s where I saw Silent Planet for the first time. It’s where I met Garrett Russell. It’s where I found a passion for music. I’m really sad to see it go. 😢
— ☧ (@EthanHonza) January 30, 2018
Walter’s is closing. Hard to really stress what a loss this is for the Houston scene. Something akin to losing CBGB’s, in a city that doesn’t have all that many venues that support independent music. https://t.co/TfRMHSPTwR
— Paul DeBenedetto (@pauldebenedetto) January 30, 2018
saw my first show at walter’s on washington, played my first show at walter’s downtown...this blows
— ain’t no goofy, mayne (@selfhaties) January 30, 2018
True fans have five days to pour one exceedingly cheap beer out before they bid Walter's goodbye this Sunday.