The story
McSorley's is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City, and it has long claimed an 1854 opening. Historians have found that John McSorley first appears in city directories in 1862 and that the site seems to have been empty in 1860 and 1861. McSorley handed day-to-day management to his son William around 1890 and died in 1910 at 87.
Women weren't allowed in until August 10, 1970, after NOW attorneys sued and the bar lost in federal court. New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell wrote about it several times, and his 1943 collection is titled "McSorley's Wonderful Saloon."
Everything that was here
- 1854–present · still open
McSorley's Old Ale HouseBar
McSorley's says it opened in 1854, but John McSorley first shows up in city directories in 1862. Women weren't allowed in until August 10, 1970.
See the map in 1855 →
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