Location: Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan
Year Established: first built around 1770 and first used as a tavern around 1835 The bar declined and was closed in 2009 until it was purchased by new owners, who extensively restored the historic bar. The Neir Family continued to own and operate the bar until they sold it in 1967. It was then sold to Louis Neir in 1898 and he added a ballroom, bowling alley, and rooms upstairs for a hotel and renamed it Neir’s Social Hall. Graves ran the bar for the next 40 years. Graves, a politician and banker, purchased The Old Abbey and cleaned it up. It became known for selling rum to “black legs, thieves, housebreakers fighting men” who frequented the track before its demise. As the Union Course Race Track declined, so did The Old Abbey. In 1835, the bar’s name was changed to The Old Abbey. Colden was the manager of the Union Course Race Track and built the bar near by. It was first opened in 1829 by Cadwaller R. Neir’s Tavern is the oldest bar in the Queens borough of New York City. Over the years, McSorley’s has had a number of famous visitors including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Prior to 1970, McSorley’s was a “men’s only bar.” The bar was finally opened to women after National Organization for Women attorneys Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow filed a discrimination case against the bar in District Court and won.
Bill sells the bar to Daniel O’Connell a longtime patron of the bar and retired policeman. Although this history comes directly from the bar itself, historical research conducted by people not personally connected to the bar and old city records challenge some of these dates.Īfter McSorley died in 1910, his son Bill takes over the bar and runs it until 1936. He opened the tavern after a few years and called it The Old House at Home. According to the bar’s history, it was opened in 1854 by John McSorley, who emigrated from Ireland to New York in 1851, after the Irish Potato Famine (1845 – 1849). McSorley’s Old Ale House is the oldest “Irish” tavern in New York City. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons via Leonard J. Location: East Village neighborhood of Manhattan People entered through the “flower shop” entrance and went through a fake refrigerator to access the bar.
The front room where the bar is located had all of its windows blacked out and the doors were kept locked. Although Prohibition was in effect, politicians still needed a place to drink and socialize, so the bar was disguised as a flower shop. The bar is next door to what used to be Tammany Hall, which was the political machine of New York City at the time. Pete’s Tavern says that it is definitively the oldest continuously running bar because it legally remained open during Prohibition. Henry wrote his famous short story “The Gift of the Magi” at the bar.
Henry lived down the street and frequented the bar. In 1899, Tom and John Healy bought the tavern and changed its name to Healy’s. Alcohol may have been served from the premises as early as 1851 or 1852, but it did not officially become a tavern until 1864. The building housing Pete’s was built in 1829 and was initially called the Portman Hotel. Location: Gramercy Park neighborhood of ManhattanĪlthough Pete’s Tavern is the sixth entry on this list, the bar claims that it is the oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant in New York City. Year Established: first built in 1829 and became a tavern in 1864 To celebrate the Mattachines, Julius’ now holds a monthly party named after the group. This cleared the way for legally operating gay bars to open in the city. The Mattachines then challenged the liquor rule in court and the courts ruled that gays had a right to peacefully assemble. On Apfour members of the New York Chapter of the Mattachine Society staged a “Sip-In” at the bar to challenge the law that prohibited bars and restaurants from serving homosexuals. Despite the harassment from the Julius’ management, gay men continued to visit the bar. At the time, homosexuals were considered “disorderly” and bartenders often kicked out known homosexuals. Around the 1950s, the bar began attracting a gay clientele, but the New York State Liquor Authority ordered bars to not serve liquor to the disorderly. It became a bar in 1864 and eventually became a popular watering hole for the jazz musicians coming from nearby jazz club Nick’s. The building was first built in 1826 and initially housed a grocery. Julius’ is considered the oldest continuously operating gay bar in New York City. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons via Americasroof Location: Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan Year Established: first built in 1826 and first bar was established in 1864