It is not unthinkable for someone to visit Lee Harvey’s without experiencing the majesty of the dive bar’s interior. The front yard is epic, purposefully referred to here as a front yard because that’s what it looks like, albeit with more picnic tables than the average residential lot. A large front patio doubles as the dive bar’s outdoor stage, host to a rotating set of bands on weekends playing to the broadly assembled crowd. Lee Harvey’s is dog friendly, the outside patio the obvious destination for most, making for a neighborhood vibe despite a location that does feel a bit like a well-lit island in an otherwise sparse area.
And while the front yard is indeed impressive, the real dive bar majesty is found inside, every wall a shrine to some long forgotten beer sign sometimes devoted to a long forgotten beer company. The space is a bit of a maze, a good thing in this case because multiple drinking alcoves are created throughout Lee Harvey’s, including a front sitting room with vintage CD-based jukebox and the first hint of museum quality beer signage (look for the Michelob cylinder light here). Next to a Ms. Pac-Man machine in this front room sits a cigarette machine under maybe the most glorious light in the dive bar, an epic Colt 45 lamp.
The bar is a double sided, 360-degree offering sitting in the center of two rooms divided, again creating some secluded dive bar drinking for those seeking such a thing. Half of this bisected bar space sits near the front entrance, a small selection of padded green hightop chairs lining the counter. Though a repair can be found here and there, the counter at least gives the appearance of a life largely untouched, imperfections thankfully visible. The beer sign game is strong here as well, a bright red Miller Beer sign hovering over the center of the back end of the bar. A fireplace adds yet more character to a small sliver of Lee Harvey’s already packed with it.