McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish
saloon in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
.
Opened in the mid-19th century at 15
East 7th Street, in today's
East Village neighborhood of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
, it was one of the last of the "Men Only" pubs, admitting women only after legally being forced to do so in 1970.
The aged artwork, newspaper articles covering the walls, sawdust floors, and the Irish waiters and bartenders give McSorley's an atmosphere reminiscent of "Olde New York". No piece of memorabilia has been removed from the walls since 1910, and there are many items of historical paraphernalia in the bar, such as Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
's handcuffs, which are connected to the bar rail. There are also wishbones hanging above the bar; supposedly they were hung there by boys going off to World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, to be removed when they returned, so the wishbones that are left are from those who never returned.
Two of McSorley's mottos are "Be Good or Be Gone", and "We were here before you were born". Prior to the 1970 ruling, the motto was "Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies"; the raw onions can still be ordered as part of McSorley's cheese platter.
McSorley's is considered to be one of the longest continuously operating ale houses in the city due to the fact that during Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
it served a "near beer
Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol content and aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating (or at least reducing) the inebriating effects of standard alcoholic brews. Most low-alcohol beers are lagers, but there are som ...
" with too little alcohol to be illegal. In 2005, ''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine considered McSorley's to be one of New York City's "Top 5 Historic Bars".
History
Founding and later proprietors
When it opened, the saloon was originally called "The Old House at Home". McSorley's has long claimed that it opened its doors in 1854; however, historical research has shown that the site was a vacant lot from 1860 to 1861.[ p.171]
The evidence for the 1854 date was considerable, but second-hand. A document at the Museum of the City of New York
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
from 1904, in founder John McSorley's hand, declares it was established in 1854, and a ''New York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' article from 1895 states it "has stood for 40 years. . . " a short distance from Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
. A 1913 article in ''Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...
'' declares that "This famous saloon ... is sixty years old."
According to a 1995 ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' "Streetscapes" article by Christopher Gray
Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his wee ...
, the census taker who visited the Irish-born McSorley in 1880 recorded the year the founder of the pub first arrived in the United States as 1855, but immigration records show that he arrived on January 23, 1851, at the age of 18, accompanied by Mary McSorley, who was 16. When confronted with the fact that the 1880 census did not contain this entry, Gray corrected it to 1900 in his book published in 2003. John McSorley first appeared in city directories in 1862, and the building his bar occupies was built no earlier than 1858, according to city records.
McSorley's is included within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District
__NOTOC__
The East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in Lower Manhattan, New York City was created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 9, 2012.Brazee, Christopher D., et al"East Village/Lower East Side His ...
, created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 2012. In the district's designation report, the building's date of construction is given as "c.1865", but it notes that indirect evidence may indicate that there was a small structure on the lot before that, since the value of the lot increased between 1848 and 1856, while that of surrounding lots did not, which may be explained by the existence of an unrecorded structure. By 1861 there was a two-story building on the lot, according to tax records, and by 1865 the present five-story one, but it is "unclear" if the former was extended upwards or a new building was constructed.[Brazee, Christopher D., et al]
"East Village/Lower East Side Historic District Designation Report"
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(October 9, 2012)
Founding owner John McSorley passed daily management to his son, William, around 1890, and died in 1910 at the age of 87. In 1936 William sold the property to Daniel O’Connell, a retired policeman and longtime customer.[Mitchell, Joseph (April 13, 1940]
"The Old House at Home"
''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...
'' After O'Connell's death three years later, his daughter Dorothy O’Connell Kirwan assumed ownership. Upon her death in 1974 and that of her husband the following year, ownership passed briefly to their son Danny before the most recent proprietor, Matthew "Matty" Maher, who purchased the bar in 1977 and owned it until his death in January 2020. Maher's daughter Ann Pullman plans to keep it in the family.
A 1954 New York City tourist guide describes McSorley's as, "An unusual and historic old tavern, little changed since established before Civil War. Interesting old dining room, seats 150 (men only at any time, though owned by a woman); different house specialty every day; old-time songs; bar room quartet variety nightly; famous, well stocked bar. Inexpensive."
Opened to women
Women were not allowed in McSorley's until August 10, 1970, after National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
attorneys Faith Seidenberg and Karen DeCrow filed a discrimination case against the bar in District Court and won. The two entered McSorley's in 1969, and were refused service, which was the basis for their lawsuit for discrimination. The case decision made the front page of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on June 26, 1970. The suit, ''Seidenberg v. McSorleys' Old Ale House'' (S.D.N.Y. 1970) established that the licensing of the bar, under the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, rose to the level of state action, thereby requiring the bar to comply with the proscriptions of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. The bar was then forced to admit women, but it did so "kicking and screaming". In 1970 Barbara Shaum became the bar's first female patron. With the ruling allowing women to be served, the bathroom became unisex. Sixteen years later, in 1986, a ladies room was installed.
2016 closure and reopening
Until 2011, McSorley's maintained a mouser
Mouser may refer to:
* A domestic cat used for hunting rodents, e.g. a farm cat or ship's cat
* Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, the official resident cat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
* Mouser Electronics, an online distributor ...
cat within its premises until a law was passed ending the practice. In November 2016, the establishment was briefly closed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaurant inspection and enforcem ...
due to violations of health code. It reopened the next week.
In 2017, McSorley's added Feltman's of Coney Island Hot Dogs to their menu, the first time the menu was altered in over fifty years. Feltman's owner, Michael Quinn, was a long time employee at McSorley's, and during the late 19th century, Feltman's Restaurant at Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...
was a popular destination for the McSorley family.
In January 2020, the then owner Matty Maher died.
Notable patrons
Notable people who have visited McSorley's include Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, Boss Tweed
William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...
, Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
and John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
. Cultural icons such as Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...
, Hunter S. Thompson, Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...
, Paul Blackburn, LeRoi Jones, Christopher Morley
Christopher Darlington Morley (May 5, 1890 – March 28, 1957) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.''Online Literature''
Biography
Morley was bo ...
,
"McSorley's"
''Plum Pudding'' Gilbert Sorrentino, and George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely with H. L. Mencken, bringing the literary magazine '' The Smart Set'' to prominence as an editor, and co-founding a ...
, frequented the tavern. Folk singer/guitarist Dave Van Ronk
David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...
used photos of himself outside the doors for album covers, and Wavy Gravy read poetry there. Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...
was a patron. In the early 1910s, anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
Hippolyte Havel became a regular.
In his 1923 poem "i was sitting in mcsorley's", poet E. E. Cummings described McSorley's as "the ale which never lets you grow old". He also described the bar as "snug and evil". McSorley's was the focus of several articles by '' New Yorker'' author Joseph Mitchell
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
. One collection of his stories was entitled ''McSorley's Wonderful Saloon'' (1943). According to Mitchell, the Ashcan school
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods.
...
painters John Sloan, George Luks
George Benjamin Luks (August 13, 1867 – October 29, 1933) was an American artist, identified with the aggressively realistic Ashcan School of American painting.
After travelling and studying in Europe, Luks worked as a newspaper illustrator a ...
and Stuart Davis were all regulars. Between 1912 and 1930, Sloan did five paintings, of the saloon — “McSorley’s Bar,” “McSorley’s Back Room,” “McSorley’s at Home,” “McSorley’s Cats,” and “McSorley’s, Saturday Night.” The first of which hangs in The Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project complet ...
. The bar has also been painted by Harry McCormick
Harry McCormick (Bayonne, New Jersey, 1942) is a contemporary American painter noted for his closely observed renderings of shadow, light, and reflections in interior spaces. His paintings often capture one or two solitary individuals in moment ...
. and photographed by Berenice Abbott
Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of between-the-wars 20th century cultural figures, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and ...
.
McSorley's most notable regular, however, was Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
founder Peter Cooper who would regularly hold court in the back room. John McSorley instructed that his favorite chair be draped with a black cloth every April 4 following Cooper's 1883 death.
After the New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...
hockey team won the Stanley Cup in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...
, they took the cup to McSorley's and drank out of it; the resulting dent caused the NHL to take the trophy back for several days for repairs.
Other locations
McSorley's Old Ale House has no other locations; however, a company called Eclipse Management has opened four McSorley's Ale Houses in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
"based loosely on the appearance of the original McSorley's Ale House in lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
, NYC". These bars sell McSorley's Ale, but are not associated in any way with McSorley's.
In popular culture
* In the comic book ''Preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
'', the character Cassidy recounts having spent a number of years frequenting McSorley's.
* McSorley's is used as a filming location in the 1991 film '' The Hard Way''.
* McSorley's was used as a filming location in the 1998 film ''Rounders
Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running arou ...
'', starring Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among '' Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Amer ...
and Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...
.
* In Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cine ...
's 1984 film ''Once Upon A Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture prod ...
'', the bar in which the five young gang members debate whether to take the dollar the bartender offers them to burn the newsstand or roll the drunk, was filmed inside McSorley's. A different bar was used for the exterior shots.
*In the television series ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty W ...
'', Sophia Petrillo
Sophia Petrillo is a character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'' and its spin-offs ''The Golden Palace and'' ''Empty Nest.'' She also appeared in episodes of the series ''Blossom'' and ''Nurses''. Her character was played by ...
, played by Estelle Getty, claims that her daughter Dorothy was born on a pinochle table at McSorley's, an anachronism, as McSorley's did not admit women until 1970.
* Daniel O'Connell Kirwan, the manager of McSorley's and son of the owner, appeared on the August 27, 1970, broadcast of episode 0514 of the panel game show
A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
'' To Tell the Truth'' after New York City required women to be admitted to the bar.
* In seasons 42 and 43 of ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...
'', Mikey Day’s portion of the intro was shot here.
*McSorley's is featured in Christian Nilsson Christian Nilsson may refer to:
* Christian Nilsson (golfer)
* Christian Nilsson (filmmaker)
Christian Nilsson (born December 31, 1987) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the psychological thriller ''Dashcam'' (20 ...
's Emmy Award-winning short documentary ''Fight To Be The Oldest Bar In NYC'' produced by HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
in 2015.
* Season 2 of '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' filmed part of the episode "Look, She Made a Hat" in McSorley's, where it is used to depict Cedar Tavern - also a real bar in New York.
* Episode 7 of the Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
series '' Dash & Lily'' takes place in McSorley's.[Fremont, Maggie (November 13, 2020]
"Dash & Lily Recap: Headaches and Heartaches"
Vulture.com
See also
* List of Irish restaurants
* List of restaurants in New York City
This is a list of notable restaurants in New York City. A restaurant is a business which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money, either paid before the meal, after the meal, or with an open account. New York City is ...
References
Informational notes
Citations
Further reading
*
External links
Official
Website
Article
detailing each of Sloans paintings with pictures.
{{Authority control
Beer brewing companies based in New York City
Drinking establishments in Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
Irish-American culture in New York City
Irish restaurants in the United States
Restaurants established in 1854
Restaurants in Manhattan
Taverns in New York City
1854 establishments in New York (state)