Then and Now Thursday: The Vanished Bars of Fifth Avenue

Park Slope used to be awash in dive bars. They lined Seventh Avenue, they lined Fifth Avenue, they lined Ninth Street. As Pete Hamill notes in his classic Park Slope-centric tome, A Drinking Life, nearly each block had a bar to its name, and they each catered to one specific club: metalworkers, longshoremen, cops, firemen (only one bar left in the neighborhood, Farrell's, still doggedly sticks to the "you're not really welcome if you're not an off-duty cop or fireman" mantra). The South Slope in particular was simply jam-packed with bars, from the end of prohibition right on through to the 1960s, and a couple of those bars, namely Smith's, Jackie's (formerly Costello's), and Timboo's (formerly Loftus') are still around.

One that bit the dust a very long time ago was called O'Malley's, and was a simple one-room bar at 501 Fifth Avenue, between 12th and 13th Streets. As seen above, it was a tight space, with apparently nowhere to sit, but it was kept neat and tidy and had its fair share of regulars, both young and old. The dapper bartenders all wore ties and weren't afraid to sneak a tipple themselves, and Bushwich-brewed Trommer's beer was featured on draught. My guess is that the photo was taken in about 1950.

Needless to say, there's zero information available online about this long-vanished watering hole, but the most recent tenant in this space was the ill-fated Dog's Den doggie daycare center, which was shut down by the city last year after an outbreak of kennel cough. The space is still vacant. Wouldn't it be nice if an old-school bar were to move back in?

Top photo: Brooklyn's Park Slope, Merlis and Rosenzweig.

Comments

[onemorefoldedsunset]

Thanks - great to read about. Where did you find the photograph?
Years back I met an elevator operator who used to run a bar a block away from Farrell's. He had some great stories.

[ParkSlopePerson]

I love this stuff, I just have to read hamill's book, I keep forgetting to buy it

[MaryAnne]

Does anyone have a pic of the Lincoln on 5th Ave near Lincoln Place. I've always heard that it was one of my Granfather's favorite places????