McSorley’s is one of New York City’s oldest and most famous bars

Gregory de la Haba is a bartender at McSorley’s Old Ale House, one of the oldest bars in New York.Sarah Jacobs/Business Insider

• Established in 1854, McSorley’s Old Ale House is one of New York City’s oldest bars.
• The bar is still open in its original location.
• Hundreds of items hang on its walls, some of which have been there since the day it opened.

McSorley’s Old Ale House is one of the oldest bars in New York City. Established in 1854, the bar still serves its signature ale and sits in the same location as it did from the beginning.

Plenty of famous people have walked through its doors, like Teddy Roosevelt, Woody Guthrie, John Lennon, Babe Ruth, Hunter S. Thompson, and Harry Houdini. President Abraham Lincoln is rumored to have paid McSorley’s a visit, and E.E. Cummings even wrote a poem about the bar.

Entering McSorley’s feels like a trip back in time, and there are signs of its history all around. Ahead, take a look inside the famous ale house.

Wishbones hanging from a light fixture are also among the bar’s best-known mementos.

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During World War I, McSorley’s began a tradition of giving troops heading off to war a turkey dinner and, of course, pints of ale. The turkey wishbones were left as a good-luck charm, and those who returned would bring their wishbone back down. 

The bones left still hanging represent the troops who did not return. In 2011, the two dozen wish bones were finally dusted off and cleaned in response to health inspectors’ orders.

Source: Atlas Obsurca, The New York Times

In 1966, The New York Times published an article titled “McSorley’s Saloon: A Gentleman’s Preserve,” which featured the bar’s chili recipe. Even then, the writer noted, “All the tables at McSorley’s have a rather distressed appearance.”

Sarah Jacobs/Business Insider

Source: The New York Times