Story
South Mall Bar Crawl
In 1962, the State of New York seized 98.5 acres (40 blocks) in downtown Albany—an area that would become known as the South Mall—for construction of a new state office complex and arterial highway. This decision by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller resulted in the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of more than 400 small businesses, roughly 10% of which were bars.
Like most of the businesses in Albany's lost 98 acres, these bars served a neighborhood crowd. Visiting them (even virtually) provides a window into the communities displaced by redevelopment.
Most of the buildings on this tour are no longer standing, and many you might have visited in 1962 are now wholly inaccessible due to the construction of the South Mall Arterial.
Start
17 stops•2.4km•30 min
The Ambassador Tavern
Fondly known as the "Big A," the Ambassador Tavern once stood across the street from the entrance to the State Capitol, where it attracted a loyal crowd of legislators, lobbyists, and newsmen. After the South Mall, the Ambassador moved to 27 Elk Street. This swanky new iteration of the old bar was a very different place, but it retained the regular customers and much of the essential character of the original. To learn more, go to the 98 Acres in Albany blog.
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The Ambassador Tavern
Marvin Sherman stands behind the bar at the Ambassador Tavern on State Street. Marv opened the business in 1945 at the age of 24, soon after completing his tour of duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps.
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Dinty's Tavern
Morris and Rose Levine owned and ran Dinty's Tavern on Hudson Avenue, a commercial street, known fondly to regulars as "the street of regret," after the song first made popular by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra. Until the mid-1950s, the Levines lived with their son Barry in an apartment above the bar. To learn more, go to the 98 Acres in Albany blog.
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Dinty's Tavern
Dinty's Tavern sponsored a bowling league. Owner Mo Levine (front row, far left) and his son Barry (front row, third from left) were both members. Barry shared this photo with us along with his story, which you can read on the 98 Acres in Albany blog.
Photo courtesy Barry Levine.
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Robert and Ethel Mather's Home
Bob and Ethel Mathers lived across the street from Dinty's Tavern, in an apartment above J. J. Hagan's Liquor Store. Former neighbors remember them from the bar at Dinty's as well as from the Clover Inn, one door up from their apartment.
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Hudson Arms Tavern
Up the block from the Mathers' apartment was Jim Loftus's place, the Hudson Arms. After moving the bar to 222 Central Avenue in 1962, Loftus cultivated a gay and lesbian clientele. Both the Central Arms (where the Waterworks is now) and the Hudson Arms were included in the 1974 "Gay Guide" published in Contact.
Photo courtesy Albany Institute of History and Art.
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The Point
Just below the billboard in this photo was the entrance to The Point, a notorious bar, closed by the State Liquor Authority in 1961 for a long list of violations, including "allowing prostitutes and degenerates to gather," "selling to drunks and minors," and failing to operate as a "bona fide restaurant."
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Zaloga's Restaurant and Grill
Like many of the taverns destroyed by the South Mall, Zaloga's, on the corner of Hamilton and High streets, served a neighborhood crowd.
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Zaloga's Restaurant and Grill
The young man with the notebook standing in the corner of the bar was an employee of the State Department of Public Works. His job, along with that of the photographer, was to document the condition of properties whose owners contested the State's proposed reimbursement.
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William Strassberg's Rooming House
The area over which the Empire State Plaza platform was built consisted of low- and middle-income homes and many small businesses, the most numerous of which were rooming houses like the one above, just across the street from Zaloga's Restaurant and Grill.
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William Strassberg's Rooming House
Rented rooms typically included a bed and private sink, with a shared bath down the hall. Tenants might cook simple meals on hot plates in their rooms or purchase cheap eats at their neighborhood tavern.
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Palais Royale Grill
Rocky Nigro's bar, which opened before or just after the repeal of Prohibition, survived the South Mall and remains in business today, one block up on Jefferson Street. To learn more, go to the 98 Acres in Albany blog.
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Palais Royale Grill
In addition to beer and liquor, the Palais Royal served sandwiches, hot dogs, baked beans, spaghetti, and hot tamales. To obtain and retain liquor licenses, bars were required by the State to operate as restaurants.
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Pat's Tavern
Pat Iarossi's Tavern stood near what is today the entrance to the New York State Museum. By 1962, Pat had sold the business to Joe Viviano, who kept the name and lived with his family in an apartment above the bar. Photo courtesy Albany Institute of History and Art.
Photo courtesy Albany Institute of History and Art.
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Calumet Grill (better known as Beansy's)
Beansy's, on the corner of Madison Avenue and Philip Street, survived the South Mall and thrived during the construction of the Empire State Plaza. The bar, which is just outside of the frame of this photo, is currently in business as the Excelsior Pub.
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Calumet Grill (better known as Beansy's)
Located by the empty lot, where construction workers parked their cars (now a parking garage), Beansy's became a favorite lunch-time and after-work hangout. To learn more about some of the men who built the Empire State Plaza, go to the 98 Acres in Albany blog.
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Bulgaro's Tavern (now Bull and Bee Meadery)
This skinny building on the corner of Philip and Hamilton streets was once George Bulgaro's Tavern and the Bulgaro family home. Although it was not seized by the State, the Bulgaros—like many of the area's other small business owners—rightly worried about displacement due to redevelopment. The building is now owned by Bull and Bee Meadery.
As you enter Bull and Bee's tasting room or head back to the bar at the Excelsior Pub, you might read about William Kennedy's 1963 visit to Milham's Grill on Madison Avenue below S. Pearl Street, in an area once known as Albany's "Gut."
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