New York City's Legendary Old Town Bar
Back in the ’70s when I lived in New York City, I would hang out at the Old Town Bar on 18th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue.
It’s a real New Yorkers bar, a place where everyone feels comfortable. For the past 130 years Old Town has remained a relative secret among both tourists and locals alike.
I have sat elbow to elbow there with everyone from Andy Warhol whom had his studio The Factory nearby, to Keith Richards, to Bill Murray, and most recently with Liam Neeson.
Although you probably don’t realize it, you have seen images of its tiled floors, pressed tin ceilings, with it’s long mahogany bar in movies and television such as The Devil’s Own, Bullets Over Broadway, and several music videos, but most often in the opening sequence of the Late Show with David Letterman, although he’s never visited the bar.
Originally established in 1892 as a German restaurant called Viemeister’s, the first floor was the saloon for the men while the upstairs dining room operated as a more respectable restaurant for both gentlemen and ladies.
The Old Town bar is also a writer’s bar as Pulitzer Prize winning authors Frank McCourt and Jim Dwyer, poet Seamus Heaney, the great Pete Hamill and others have all been seen here.
The urinals here are somewhat of an attraction unto themselves. They have two surviving Hinsdale porcelain urinals that were patented in 1910. The inventor named Walter E Hinsdale wrote that his urinals were specifically designed to “embrace a body” and provide “a more sightly appearance”.
The walls are covered with pictures and weathered murals, with discolored campaign posters and several stained glass windows.
In a city obsessed with exclusivity and the next great thing, Old Town has carved out a legacy by being one of those rare, special places where anyone can walk in, order a beer or hot sandwich and feel welcomed.
David Garland NY New York Aug 28, 2025 Bars Friends Places to Visit
Aug 28, 2025
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