“Light or dark?” That ‘tis the question McSorley’s Old Ale House patrons have faced for almost 160 years. Their choice earned them a mug of ale and the chance to experience a bit of New York’s past.
Now pull up a stool and hear this…
The Old House at Home
It nearly sounds as if it was after a couple of glasses of his own ale – that John McSorley named and opened “The Old House at Home,” in 1854. The aforementioned moniker was the original name of the alehouse that has survived to date; just a century and a half of ‘hailing the light and dark’ menu.
The tavern was originally situated on the ground level in the eastern half of a building or “taxpayer structure,” courtesy of real estate prospector John W. Mitchell. The bar’s original address was 15 ½ 7th Street, with an upholsterer operating next door.
The tavern features a walnut bar dating back to 1823. John McSorley salvaged it from a saloon torn down during the construction of Cooper Union. McSorley’s expanded during the following years, taking over the entire first floor in 1865. By then, the building had been augmented into a five-story tenement. Two iron pillars were erected inside the tavern to support the structure.
Pine sawdust was sprinkled about and would cover the floor of the bar – a tradition started in the early years to soak up drips and drops and spills, and one which carries on to date. Armchairs and wooden tables surrounded a big belly stove that warmed the front room.
A back room hosted more tables and a kitchen in the corner that served up a free lunch and a snack of raw onions, cheese and soda crackers – wasabi peas were the rumored runners-up. Posters, newspaper articles and other memorabilia cover every inch of the walls.
The Old House at Home stuck until a 1908 storm knocked down the sign. It was replaced with another that read, ...
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