McSorley’s Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley’s, is the oldest “Irish” saloon in New York City. Your beer order comes two at a time and the waiters bring the mugs by the fistful. A popular appetizer consists of saltine crackers, raw onions and cheese slices. Classic.
Per Wikpedia.org, opened in the mid-19th century at 15 East 7th Street, in today’s East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, 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‘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, 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 had 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 it served a “near beer” with too little alcohol to be illegal. In 2005, New York magazine considered McSorley’s to be one of New York City’s “Top 5 Historic Bars”.
Notable people who have visited McSorley’s include Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, and Boss Tweed.
It’s usually jammed with people and a heck of a lot of fun. Look it up when in the Big Apple.
– Jet Cannon
