Old Bars of New York

McSorley's Old Ale House

15 East 7th Street

McSorley's opened its doors in 1854, and was originally named, "The Old House at Home" by its Irish immigrant owner, John McSorley.   The bar was a men-only establishement until forced to include woment in the 1970's, thus remaining true to its motto: "Good Ale, raw onions, no women".

Many famous artists and celebraties have frequented the Bar.  The famous Ash Can School painter John Sloan painted pictures of McSorley's interior, e.e. cummings wrote his poem, " i was sitting in mcsorley's", about it.  Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt visited, as did Woodie Gutherie, and John Lennon.

The bar menu is noted for its basic simplicity, such as a plate of "cheese, onions and Saltines' --  but then you don't go there for the food.  You go there for the Ale.

In the middle of the room is a working potbelly stove throwing off a radient glow along with its heat on a cold winter night.

Soldiers going off to serve in World War I would leave a wishbone hanging on the overhead light.  They would remove it when the returned.  The wishbones of those who never returned have been there ever since gatherng dust, until the lamp was required to be cleaned by city health officials in 2011.

A rich collection of memorabilia decorates the walls up to the ceilings.

Beers are served in half pints, two at a time per order.  A McSorley's waiter can carry this many and more with only one hand.  The only beverage served is McSorley's deep golden Ale in either light or dark.  The Ale was originally made by the Fidelio Brewery until Prohibition closed it down.  During Prohibition McSorley's existed as a speakeasy with the ale being made in its basement.  Fidelio reopened after Prohibition and continued to make McSorley's Cream Ale.

The EAR INN

326 Spring Street (bet Greenwich & Washington) 

The Ear Inn stakes a claim as the oldest working bar in New York City.  The building itself was constructed about 1812 by James Brown, a black man and aide to George Washington.  Some think it is James who is shown in the boat with Washington in the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware.  Brown worked in the Tobacco trade after the Revolutionary War and built this home, which at the time was only five feet from the shore of the Hudson River.

Circa 1817 a tavern opened on the ground floor of the building.  In the mid 1800's Brown sold the building to apothocaries, and around 1890 it was sold again to a Thomas Cloke. 

The building is an example of Federal Architecture and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is also a New York City Landmark. 

The Tavern originally brewed its own ale.  Today you can purchase "Ear Inn Ale" on draft.  It is made by the Brooklyn Brewing Company, tastes really good, and has a color that seems to go with the faded wood behind the bar. Cloke sold the building in 1919 with the approach of Prohibition.

The lineup of bottles above the bar were excavated from the back cellar of the building under what is now the restaurant.

During Prohibition the restaurant area in the rear of the tavern became a speakeasy, while the rooms upstairs served as brothal, boarding house, and a smugglers quarters.  When the bar re-opened after Prohibition it was nameless.  Local seamen who formed the principal clientele since the bar opened began referring to it as the bar with "The Green Door".

One of the decorated lamps hanging over the bar.

Crayons are always available at the restaurant tables for doddling on the paper table clothes.

In 1977 the bar was christened the "Ear". The name came from a magazine that was being published upstairs, and was simply accomplished by blacking out the curved front of the letter "B" in the bar sign over the front door.  The name was changed in this clever way to avoid the lengthy review process of the Landmark Commission's for renaming a historic building. 

The Old Town Bar
45 East 18th Street (between Park and Broadway)

 The Old Town has been serving New York since 1892 when it opened in what was then a predominently German section of the city, and the bar served primarily German food until the mid-1900's. It continued to operate as a speakeasy during Prohibition because the politicians of nearby Tammany Hall needed a place to go for a drink.  Everything in the bar is original from the 55' mahogany and marble bar to the 16' high pressed tin ceilings. Even the giant urinals made by Hinsdale in 1910 are still there.

Upstairs is the dining room for "ladies and gentlemen", the only part of the early establishment that allowed women.  The menu is basic pub fair, but the burger is fantastic. 

 

Decorative tin ceiling and original hanging light fixtures that were converted from gas to electric.

Pictures and posters line the walls reminding us of the Old Town's rich literary and film history.  Over ten movies and videos were shot in the bar.  As with most of the old bars of New York, this one has received its share of notable literary figures, including Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes), the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, and Jim Dwyer.

An Old Town burger is considered one of the best in New York.  The one I had certainly lived up to its reputation.

A stained glass window lights the stairway to the upper dining room on the left.  On  the right the original 1910 giant Hinsdale urinals are still in use in the ground floor men's room.

A sign painted in the window reminds us that the Old Town was chosen in 2010 by Esquire magazine as one of the Best Bars in America.

The Old Town Bar on the summer day when the sun aligns with the street grid of Manhattan.

White Horse Tavern

567 Hudson Street (at 11th Street)

The White Horse Tavern opened in 1880.  It was primarily a longshoreman's bar until the 1950's when it became part of the artistic, Bohemian culture of Greenwich Village and freqented by writers and artists, such as Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, The Clancy Brothers (who also played there), and Jack Kerouac.

A portrait of the White Horse's most famous guest, Dylan Thomas, hangs in the middle room of the interior.  Thomas lived nearby and was a frequent client of the bar.  One night after a heavy bout of drinking he returned to his home and died a few days later. 

Outdoor dining or just enjoying a drink on a summer night at the White Horse.

 

The Bridge Cafe
279 Water Street

The Bridge Cafe lays claim to being the oldest original drinking establishment in New York City.  The wooden building where it is housed was built in 1794 at a time when the East River came up to where the kitchen is now located.

You can see the lights of the Brooklyn Bridge to the left of the building.