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The pub, whose motto was “Good Ale, Raw Onions, and No Ladies,” was not yet ready to get with the times. In fact, they fought hard to keep women out of the establishment and even considered becoming a private club to do so. When he died in 1883, his chair was retired and still sits behind the bar.
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You have to be a regular of the pub for over 40 years in order to be placed across from Old John’s likeness. However, about two dozen wishbones remain on that lamp rail over the bar—one for each of the neighborhood men who never made it back from France. They were left up by Bill as a poignant tribute to those patrons who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Experience McSorley's
Some have occupied their lots longer than McSorley’s, like the Ear Inn at 326 Spring Street or Fraunces’ Tavern at 54 Pearl—one of the oldest remaining structures in Manhattan, dating as far back as 1785. Yet few establishments will maintain their original spirit like McSorley’s saloon, a spirit, still carried forward and owned by the Maher family. Though its wooden walls and doors may be etched and notched by wear, its beauty and nostalgia endure in the smooth ale poured and the patrons who were there—lending truth to its motto, we have been here before you were born. It rode the fervor of Abraham Lincoln’s historic Cooper Union Address delivered in New York City. They served the 16th president their signature brew, only to later lament the fateful news of his assassination in April of 1865.
A Tour of McSorley’s
But on a Tuesday afternoon, it’s easy enough to grab a couple of beers, settle into a worn wooden table, and imagine the people who have passed through its double doors in need of “a cold beer to warm up”—a phrase Buggy uses frequently. According to legend, bartenders would step on a special pedal to fill the mugs with the real deal to longtime customers. McSorley’s managed to avoid legal trouble because many of Tammany Hall politicians drank there throughout Prohibition. Throughout these years, American painter John Sloan also famously created a series of still life paintings of McSorley’s, such as the one above.
Above the fireplace is the McSorley’s motto “Be Good or Be Gone”, as well as a portrait of Peter Cooper, founder of Cooper Union. There have been few structural changes to the Old Ale House, the kitchen being a glaring exception. With the Supreme Court ruling of 1970 (allowing women entry into McSorley’s), the bathroom became coed. Sixteen years later, a ladies room was installed, displacing the galley.
Raise a pint at McSorley's Old Ale House this St. Patrick's Day - Washington Square News
Raise a pint at McSorley's Old Ale House this St. Patrick's Day.
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There seems to be a place — a theme for every square inch of the wonderful Old Ale House, and the northwest corner of the backroom is a monument to music. Giles donated a gold record from his million selling album “Love Stinks”, the so and so album hangs there along with period sheet music. Ireland Before You Die (IB4UD) is the biggest Irish travel and culture website. We highlight the most inspiring experiences Ireland has to offer. A wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth hangs on the wall after he assassinated McSorley’s patron and 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many pubs in New York were men-only and didn’t allow women to drink in or even enter their premises.
City Shuts Down Historic McSorley's Old Ale House Over Health Violations
After all, in 1860, Lincoln reportedly went straight to McSorley’s to quench his thirst after giving a speech that later became known as the Cooper Union Address. That speech, in which Lincoln condemned the expansion of slavery, galvanized the city into a feverish excitement. Historians credit the Cooper Union Address as the turning point in Lincoln’s campaign.
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Chances are Cooper sipped away his defeat to Samuel J. Tilden for the democratic nomination for president. Tilden might have pondered the same, when he lost that year’s election in 1876 to Rutherford B. Hayes. McSorley’s is famed to be one of the last men’s only clubhouses. Yet from its ardent grip of the status quo, the tavern still stood on the cusp of social change—if only reluctantly so—by losing a case heard before the Supreme Court in 1970. McSorley’s was then forced to serve female patrons, and there is no doubt this forever changed the social bar scene in New York City. At a time when many establishments in the south may have still served whites only, the historic tavern served African-American poet, drama, and music critic Everett LeRoi Jones who died January of last year.
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That is, until the city’s health department came knocking in 2011 and demanded the bones be dusted. (His daughter, Teresa Maher de la Haba is the current owner.) He felt that he could not entrust the task to anybody else. One by one, he took down each wishbone, dusted it, and carefully returned it to its rightful place on the lamp rail. Since its establishment in 1854, McSorley’s sawdusted floors and tchotchke-covered walls have beckoned countless New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Bill McSorley was the kind of person who minds his own business vigorously. He inherited every bit of his father’s surliness and not much of his affability. The father was by no means a lush, but the son carried temperance to an extreme; he drank nothing but tap water and tea, and bragged about it.
To commemorate the unique difference of no cash register, there is a sign hanging in which states “We Trust Here” and shows the backside view of a pig. Above the bar, wishbones covered with many generations worth of dust are visible from their seat upon an old gas lamp. As you begin to take a closer look, you can spot an original wanted poster for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin following that tragedy, dating back to 1865. As well, you may have the good fortune to spot Babe Ruth’s farewell photo from Yankee stadium, which was a donation from the photographer who was a regular himself. America’s oldest, continuously operated bar is packed full of vast history throughout the various areas of the bar.
The memories of ex-presidents, popular society figures, entertainers and athletes mingle with the working class, as the poets and artists mix in to enjoy the same old ale as those before them. Every visit to McSorley’s reveals new history which may have been missed on a prior visit. Unlike the drinks, which are slammed on the bar seconds after ordering, change arrives slowly at McSorley’s.
He patterned his saloon after a public house he had known in Ireland and originally called it the Old House at Home; around 1908 the signboard blew down, and when he ordered a new one he changed the name to McSorley’s Old Ale House. That is still the official name; customers never have called it anything but McSorley’s. Old John believed it impossible for men to drink with tranquillity in the presence of women; there is a fine back room in the saloon, but for many years a sign was nailed on the street door, saying, “Notice. When other women came in, Old John would hurry forward, make a bow, and say, “Madam, I’m sorry, but we don’t serve ladies.” This technique is still used. As a businessman, Bill was anachronous; he hated banks, cash registers, bookkeeping, and salesmen. He would count out the money four or five times and hand it to the driver in a paper bag.
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