QUEENS:
7. Neir’s Tavern (1829)

Photograph Courtesy of Neir’s Tavern

As a lasting testament to the history of Woodhaven, the sign on the facade of Neir’s Tavern depicts the silhouette of a person riding on a horse. That’s because the bar was founded next to New York’s Union Course, a four mile horse racing track constructed in 1821. Located between present-day Jamaica Avenue on the north, Atlantic Avenue on the south, 78th Street on the west, and 85th Street on the east, Union Course came to be known as the most important race track in America.

Neir’s Tavern (founded as Old Abbey) opened its doors to the public eight years after the track was established; it gave rowdy horse racing fans a place to congregate and drink, and was known by several different names during the course of its history, including Blue Pump Room, Neir’s Social Hall and Union Course Tavern. It became particularly disorderly as tensions between the North and South grew, leading all the way up to the war. During this period, Neir’s was a hot bed for “thieves” and the “unscrupulous type,” according to its current owner.

Photograph Courtesy of Neir’s Tavern

Towards the end of the 19th century, the tavern came under the ownership of Louis Neir, who added a bowling alley and ballroom to the establishment; the Neir family ran the business from 1898 to 1967, before another family took over until 2009. Then in 2010, the tavern re-opened, following a major renovation. Although it’s not quite as popular as it used to be, Neir’s has its own unique place in popular culture: scenes from Goodfellas and Tower Heist were filmed there and Mae West reportedly frequented the bar.