WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 25
Historic tavern in Woodhaven
celebrates 190 years of friendship
PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PROJECTWOODHAVEN@GMAIL.COM
On Sunday, Oct. 5, Neir’s Tavern
in Woodhaven will celebrate
its 190th birthday with a street
celebration outside the building it has
occupied since 1829.
Located at 78th Street and 88th
Avenue, Neir’s Tavern opened
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 the track began its long, slow
decline, earned
a reputat ion
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 reputat ion
around as the
race track went
through its final
stages before finally
closing just
af ter 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
f ilm scouts
and resulted
in some of the
more memorable
scenes
from Martin
S c o r s e s e ’ s
G o o d f e l l a s
starring Robert
DeNiro
and Joe Pesci
being filmed
inside in 1989.
It remained
under that
name unt i l
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.
The Neir’s establishment has
seen it all in Woodhaven. From its
earliest days (when it was named
Woodville), through the early days
of racing, through the Civil War
(when a camp was set up directly
across the street), through the
arrival of the railroad, the disappearance
of the farms and the
arrival of housing.
The neighborhood has changed
a great deal in the last 190 years.
Time travelers from 1829 would
find a very different community
than the one they were used to.
The one familiar face they might
find is Neir’s Tavern.
Drop by on the afternoon of Oct.
5 to celebrate the 190th birthday
of this historic Woodhaven institution.
For details, email woodhavenhistory@
gmail.com.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Photo courtesy of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
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