John McSorley first appeared in city directories in 1862, and the building his bar occupies was built no earlier than 1858, according to city records. When confronted with the fact that the 1880 census did not contain this entry, Gray corrected it to 1900 in his book published in 2003. is sixty years old.' Īccording to a 1995 New York Times 'Streetscapes' article by Christopher Gray, the census taker who visited the Irish-born McSorley in 1880 recorded the year the founder of the pub first arrived in the United States as 1855, but immigration records show that he arrived on January 23, 1851, at the age of 18, accompanied by Mary McSorley, who was 16. A 1913 article in Harper's Weekly declares that 'This famous saloon. A document at the Museum of the City of New York from 1904, in founder John McSorley's hand, declares it was established in 1854, and a New York Tribune article from 1895 states it 'has stood for 40 years. The evidence for the 1854 date was considerable, but second-hand. McSorley's has long claimed that it opened its doors in 1854 however, historical research has shown that the site was a vacant lot from 1860 to 1861. When it opened, the saloon was originally called 'The Old House at Home'.

McSorley's Bar, a 1912 painting by John French Sloan Founding and later proprietors In 2005, New York magazine considered McSorley's to be one of New York City's 'Top 5 Historic Bars'. 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. Prior to the 1970 ruling, the motto was 'Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies' the raw onions can still be ordered as part of McSorley's cheese platter. Two of McSorley's mottos are 'Be Good or Be Gone', and 'We were here before you were born'. 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. 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. 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'. 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.

McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City.

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