December 29, 2004

McSorley's not showing its age?

Gothamist today carries a Q&A with the daytime manager at McSorley's, one of the city's oldest and most storied bars. His comments hit a special spot here at NewYorkology, since he repeats some legends which when published here, drew the first hate mail when this site started not quite six months ago.

The problem fundamentally boils down to this: What is the oldest bar in New York?

In February 2004, McSorley's Old Ale House celebrated its 150th anniversary, under the permanent banner: Established 1854. The international media coverage at the time made nary a peep about the dubious date.

Enter Richard McDermott, a retired high school teacher and sometimes publisher of the New York Chronicle, whose research shows McSorley's opened in 1862. His sources include old insurance maps, census data and tax-assessment records. His findings are cited in the "AIA Guide to New York City" and "New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buildings and Landmarks", by New York Times' real estate historian Christopher Gray. And yet the legend lives on, repeated not only by McSorley's but also in publications such as "The Historic Shops and Restaurants of New York."

Here's part of the Gothamist Q&A with Steve "Pepe" Zwaryczuk:

Is it true that Abraham Lincoln and J.F.K. have both come here to drink?

Wrong. The only president ever to visit McSorley’s was Abraham Lincoln, and he wasn’t president at the time. He wasn’t even a candidate. But apparently a speech he had given across the street in convinced (sic) the northern Republicans to nominate him. Peter Cooper, who was one of his supporters, allowed him to use the Great Hall at his school, the largest meeting hall in New York City at that time. He was a regular customer.

December 29, 2004 09:42 AM in Downtown, Drinkology, History

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