WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 3, 2019 17
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Woodhaven tavern’s history dates back nearly 200 years
PRESENTED B
Y THE WOODHAVEN CULTURAL
AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PROJECTWOODHAVEN@GMAIL.COM
In Woodhaven, we are lucky to have
many surviving points of interest
that stretch back to the early days
of our community – the Wyckoff - Snediker
family cemetery, the clock tower
of the old LaLance-Grosjean factory, as
well as businesses close to a hundred
years old such as Schmidt’s Candies
and Manor Deli, and several that are
well over a century old, including Pop’s
Restaurant (110 years), Walker Funeral
Home (115 years) and Ohlert-Ruggiere
Inc. Insurance & Tax (125 years).
But in Woodhaven, the granddaddy
of them all is Neir’s Tavern, which has
now offi cially entering its 190th year
in business. Located at 78th Street and
88th Avenue, Neir’s Tavern opened in
October 1829 as The Blue Pump Room,
owned by Cadwallader R. Colden
whose grandfather was the lieutenant
governor of the British Province of
New York and whose cousin was the
mayor of New York City.
Colden, the black sheep of this
well-known and distinguished family,
was also the manager of the historic
Union Course Race Track, which sat
directly across the street from The
Blue Pump Room.
The Union Course was a large
race track, sitting between 78th and
85th streets, from Jamaica Avenue
to Atlantic. Races between horses
representing the North and the South
were popular events with one race,
between American Eclipse and
Henry attracting over 60 thousand
spectators.
The Long Island Rail Road opened a
special station on Atlantic Avenue for
the race track (called the Union Course
stop) and several hotels sprang up to
handle the many visitors to the track.
The track was so well-known that this
entire section of Woodhaven became
known as Union Course.
In 1835, the tavern was sold and
renamed “The Old Abbey” which, as
Photo courtesy of Flickr user The Whistling Monkey
the track began its long, slow decline,
earned a reputation as a “notorious
rumseller” that catered to the rougher
crowds that now came to the races.
In the 1850s, banker and politician
Nathan Graves purchased The Old
Abbey, and he turned its reputation
around as the race track went through
its fi nal stages before fi nally closing
just aft er the Civil War. The track
sat dormant for nearly two decades
before the land was sold and divided
up into lots where many of today’s
Woodhaven homes would be built.
Just before the turn of the century,
the tavern was purchased by Louis
Neir, who added a bowling alley and a
ballroom and renamed it “Neir’s Social
Hall.” The Neir family also owned a hotel,
just one block south of the tavern
(at the corner of 78th Street and 87th
Road), in a building that still stands to
this day.
Over the years, many of the old-timers
that frequented Neir’s told tales of
stage and screen legend Mae West
performing in the ballroom. While
some people cast doubt on these tales,
those who were there back in the day
swore it was true, and she did live just
a few blocks away (on 88th Street off of
89th Avenue).
The establishment was kept by the
Neir family into the late 1960s when it
was sold again and became known as
“The Union Course Tavern.” Its reputation
as an old-time, classic bar with
a rich history attracted the attention of
fi lm scouts and resulted in some of the
more memorable scenes from Martin
Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” starring Robert
DeNiro and Joe Pesci being fi lmed
inside in 1989.
It remained under that name until
it was sold again in 2009. The interior
underwent a detailed and beautiful
restoration and it was renamed, once
again, as Neir’s Tavern.
Since its restoration, Neir’s Tavern
has become a vibrant showcase for
musical and spoken word talent as
well as a site of community gatherings,
fundraisers and coat/toy drives at the
holidays.
“It’s what we do,” current owner Loycent
Gordon says. “First and foremost,
we’re a part of our community. We
have been for 190 years and we’re still
going strong.”
Photo courtesy of Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
This 1898 photo shows the owners of Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven.
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