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McHales Bows Out
By
Garth Johnston
Published Oct 2, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Oct 2, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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And another watering hole is leaving. McHale's, one of the great old school pubs in midtown, has announced that it is going to close its doors on January 1 to make room for a 42-story high-rise. The bar, located on 46th and Eighth, has been open for more than fifty years, the last three of which it was paying rent on a "handshake deal" with the landlord (who just sold the six-story building for $30 million).
The bar has not only served actors and neighborhood workers (like us) for the past half century, but also been the location for bar scenes in movies like "Sleepers," "She's the One" and "Money Train" along with a Jerry Seinfeld AmEx commercial. Jimmy McHale, the owner who took over the bar from his father Jimmy McHale in '81, plans to have the majority of the bar destroyed with a few exceptions like the bar itself, which came from the 39-40 World's Fair. Now Gothamist has three months to pick another midtown bar to go to after work, any suggestions?
Photograph by Julie Stapen for the NYPost.
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