McSorley's Old Ale House

Upon entering McSorley's Old Ale House in the East Village, you're likely to be asked just one question: "Light or dark?" Don't worry about it; everyone who has entered the Irish pub over the past century-and-a-half has been given the same choice of beers. As New York City's oldest continuously operated saloon, the small selection of McSorley's own house beer must be pretty good. Only during Prohibition did the bar stop serving its own house beer for the single option of "Near Beer," which was enough to keep the bar alive through that rocky time in American history. Everyone from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon has stopped in for a beer.

From as early on as 1882, McSorley's arrived in the public eye, with the play "McSorley's Inflation" running at the Theatre Comique on Broadway. In 1925, E. E. Cummings wrote the poem, "Sitting in McSorleys's." Articles on the bar ran in both the New Yorker and Life Magazine during the 1940's. Most controversially, McSorley's made headlines in 1970 when it was sued for not allowing access to women, though the bar eventually acquiesced to court order.

Outside, visitors are greeted with a brick façade and large bar sign, so common in the East Village. Swinging doors and sawdust-covered floors are still the primary décor of McSorley's, making the bar a portal through time to the 1800s. Some historic paraphernalia also grace the bar, including newspaper clippings, photographs, and even Houdini's handcuffs. So head over to East 7th Street for a sip of historic ale, but make sure to follow McSorley's golden rule, "Be Good or Be Gone."

- Callie Worsham