Formerly: Burckel Brothers' Cafe · L. E. Reichenecker Cafe · Viemeister's · Craig's Restaurant
New York, New York · Founded 1892 · Building: 1901
A Manhattan bar with an 1892 predecessor lineage, housed since the 1910s in a 1901 building with a 55-foot mahogany bar and landmark 1910 urinals.
Old Town Bar operates at 45 East 18th Street near Union Square in Manhattan. Its business lineage reaches to an 1892 predecessor at 43 East 18th Street, likely Jacob Burckel's cafe, but the current building was constructed in 1901 and the Viemeister operation moved into it around 1912–1913. During Prohibition it became Craig's Restaurant, then Henry and Claus Lohden renamed it Old Town Bar in 1933.
A predecessor café or saloon business opened at 43 East 18th Street, likely under Jacob Burckel and the Burckel Brothers' Cafe name. The exact original operating name remains unresolved.
Source: DNAinfo, "After 125 Years, Old Town Bar's Origin Story Still Holds Secrets"; New York City historical accounts
A liquor license displayed behind the Old Town Bar identifies Jacob Burckel, supporting the Burckel Brothers' Cafe connection to the early business lineage.
Source: DNAinfo, "After 125 Years, Old Town Bar's Origin Story Still Holds Secrets"; New York City Signs, "45 East 18th Street"
The present 45 East 18th Street building was constructed.
Source: Old Town Bar historical summaries; New York City Signs, "45 East 18th Street"
The men's room received full-height porcelain Hinsdale urinals designed by Winfield E. Hinsdale, whose 1901 patent sought to reduce splashing.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan, "The 1892 Old Town Bar"; Time Out, "Four hidden secrets of NYC's legendary Old Town Bar"
Harry W. Viemeister moved his saloon and restaurant operation to 45 East 18th Street around 1912–1913. The precise move year differs in the retrieved accounts.
Source: Old Town Bar historical summaries; DNAinfo, "After 125 Years, Old Town Bar's Origin Story Still Holds Secrets"
During Prohibition, the venue operated as Craig's Restaurant. Later accounts say alcohol was concealed in compartments beneath booth seats, but this review did not locate contemporaneous proof of the specific concealment method.
Source: Fordham Now, "Old Town's Old-Fashioned Appeal"; Time Out, "Four hidden secrets of NYC's legendary Old Town Bar"
Henry and Claus Lohden bought the business after repeal and renamed it Old Town Bar.
Source: Fordham Now, "Old Town's Old-Fashioned Appeal"; Manhattan Sideways, "Old Town Bar"
The Old Town Bar neon sign was erected.
Source: Old Town Bar historical summaries
Old Town Bar and Restaurant continues to operate with food and drinks at 45 East 18th Street under Meagher-family ownership and management.
Source: Old Town Bar official website; Time Out, "Four hidden secrets of NYC's legendary Old Town Bar"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The current building dates to 1901, and research reported by the current owners indicates the 1892 predecessor began at 43 East 18th Street under Jacob Burckel or Burckel Brothers' Cafe. Viemeister appears to have moved to the present address around 1912–1913.
Multiple architectural and historical accounts describe the 55-foot mahogany-and-marble bar, 16-foot tin ceiling, bevel-edged mirrors, and original 1910 Hinsdale urinals still in use. The bar and room retain strong period fabric, though individual fixtures should be verified through formal landmark documentation for object-level dating.
Several historical accounts agree that the venue used the name Craig's Restaurant during Prohibition before becoming Old Town Bar in 1933.
The candidate's dumbwaiter narrative was not supported by the sources retrieved. Later accounts instead describe alcohol stored beneath booth seats or the venue operating as a speakeasy, but this review found no contemporaneous evidence proving the specific method of illegal liquor service.
The business lineage began at 43 East 18th Street in 1892, while the current 45 East 18th Street building was constructed in 1901 and the Viemeister operation moved there about a decade later. The record supports a long business lineage, not continuous occupation of the present building since 1892.
A 2024 Time Out interview identifies Gerard Meagher as Old Town Bar's co-owner. Historical accounts describe his father, Larry Meagher, acquiring the business from the Lohden family in the second half of the 20th century.
The candidate supplied these filming claims, but this review did not locate reliable production notes, location databases, contemporaneous reports, or credits that establish filming at this specific bar.
Old Town Bar opened at 45 East 18th Street in 1892 as Viemeister's.
The 1892 predecessor business began at 43 East 18th Street and appears to have been Jacob Burckel's Burckel Brothers' Cafe. The present 45 East 18th Street building was constructed in 1901, and Viemeister's moved there around 1912–1913.
Source: DNAinfo, "After 125 Years, Old Town Bar's Origin Story Still Holds Secrets"; New York City Signs, "45 East 18th Street"
Old Town Bar's giant porcelain urinals date to the 1892 opening.
The Hinsdale urinals date to a 1910 restroom upgrade in the present building.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan, "The 1892 Old Town Bar"; Time Out, "Four hidden secrets of NYC's legendary Old Town Bar"
Old Town Bar's Prohibition liquor was moved by hidden dumbwaiter from the basement.
This review confirmed the Craig's Restaurant Prohibition name but did not find evidence establishing the specific dumbwaiter story. Later accounts instead describe bottles concealed under booth seats.
Source: Fordham Now, "Old Town's Old-Fashioned Appeal"; Time Out, "Four hidden secrets of NYC's legendary Old Town Bar"
Old Town Bar's current phone number is (212) 529-6735.
Current official and public listings identify the phone number as (212) 529-6732.
Source: Old Town Bar official website; Manhattan Sideways, "Old Town Bar"
Old Town has survived through adaptation without wholesale modernization. Its working bar-and-restaurant business retains a long mahogany-and-marble bar, tin ceilings, mirrors, booths, and the unusual 1910 Hinsdale urinals, while the Meagher family has continued to operate the room as a neighborhood gathering place rather than an architectural museum.
Old Town Bar in New York, New York, traces its business lineage to an 1892 café or saloon at 43 East 18th Street, probably Jacob Burckel's Burckel Brothers' Cafe. The current building at 45 East 18th Street was constructed in 1901, and Viemeister's moved there around 1912–1913. It became Craig's Restaurant during Prohibition and was renamed Old Town Bar in 1933.
Old Town Bar is one of New York City's historic long-running bars, but this review does not establish it as the city's oldest. Its business lineage reaches to 1892, while its present building dates to 1901 and it did not move to the current address until around 1912–1913. Any citywide oldest-bar title requires a defined category and comparison with other credible candidates.
Old Town Bar's large porcelain Hinsdale urinals are original to the current building's 1910 restroom upgrade, not to the bar's 1892 predecessor. Historical accounts identify them as unusually rare survivors of the early 20th century and report that they remain in use.
During Prohibition, Old Town Bar operated as Craig's Restaurant. Historical accounts say the restaurant functioned as a speakeasy, but the specific stories about how alcohol was concealed have not been independently verified in this review.
45 E 18th St, New York, NY 10003
(212) 529-6732
Old Town Bar serves food and drinks near Union Square. Its official schedule lists late-night weekday and weekend hours, with a shorter Sunday schedule; confirm current service before visiting.