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Prohibition

"When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion... I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition." –– John D. Rockefeller

ByUrban Archive logoUrban Archive
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Excelsior Brewing Company
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Excelsior Brewing Company

During Prohibition, this Pulaski St. brewery was busted for clandestine sales of real beer, rather than "near beer," as advertised.
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Central Park Casino
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Central Park Casino

To get around pesky Prohibition laws, patrons would leave their Rolls-Royces stocked with bootleg champagne parked outside the casino.
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Greenwich Village Inn
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Greenwich Village Inn

When Greenwich Village Inn's waiters were arrested in 1933 for Prohibition violations, the owner Barney Gallant offered himself up in their place and served 30 days in the notorious Tombs.
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3548-3560 Third Avenue
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3548-3560 Third Avenue

This Bronx brewery was padlocked during Prohibition when outlaw brewers were caught making "beer of the forbidden alcoholic content."
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Delmonico's Restaurant, 44th Street
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Delmonico's Restaurant, 44th Street

In 1923, the combination of high rents and prohibition caused Delmonico's to close.
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Josiah Purdy House
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Josiah Purdy House

This 1932 photograph, taken during Prohibition, shows a painted advertisement for Peter Doegler beer (“available in bottles and barrels”) on the upper-floor clapboards along Wooster street, though the storefront itself appears to be available for rent.
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Luchow's Restaurant
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Luchow's Restaurant

Luchow’s was the first restaurant in the city to get its liquor license following Prohibition’s repeal in 1933.
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176 Franklin Street
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176 Franklin Street

176 Franklin was raided multiple times during Prohibition, with the restaurant and a cabaret operation on the second floor censured by the authorities.
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Yale Club
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Yale Club

Supposedly, the Yale Club hoarded enough liquor to last them all the way through Prohibition.
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Schinasi Mansion
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Schinasi Mansion

This 1909-built Riverside Drive mansion was constructed for a Turkish tobacco magnate. It is rumored to include a Prohibition-era trapdoor escape hatch to the Hudson River below, but these claims do not appear in Landmarks Preservation Commission documents.
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Eagle Brewery
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Eagle Brewery

This 19th century west side brewery has a history intertwined with the oldest brewery in the United States, Yuengling. But when Prohibition was enacted in 1920, it closed.
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Monte's Venetian Room
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Monte's Venetian Room

Monte’s, the storied mob and Rat Pack hangout near the banks of the Gowanus Canal, operated as a speakeasy, during Prohibition.
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Chumley's
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Chumley's

During Prohibition, Chumley's Bar (visible down the block from this corner) was accessed by a secret entrance off Barrow Street, along with an alleyway called Pamela Court.
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1 Extra Place
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1 Extra Place

This small alley was the quiet location of garages, manufacturing shops, and a few speakeasies during Prohibition.
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Diogenes Brewery
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Diogenes Brewery

The Diogenes Brewery ceased operations as a brewery after Prohibition and rebranded as the Malt-Diataste Company, a producer of malt syrup for candy and home-brewed beverages.
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Steiger's Hotel
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Steiger's Hotel

Signs on the front of this Steiger's Hotel advertise Trommer's Malt Brew (a Prohibition-era drink) and Long Island Duck Dinners.
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Welz & Zerweck High Ground Brewery
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Welz & Zerweck High Ground Brewery

Like many of the breweries in Bushwick and Ridgewood, Welz & Zerweck shuttered during Prohibition.
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Pete's Tavern
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Pete's Tavern

This unobtrusive Gramercy tavern and beer hall has been a fully functioning restaurant and drinking establishment for well over 150 years. During Prohibition, a "flower shop" served as a front for the still operational bar.
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Excelsior Brewing Company
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Excelsior Brewing Company

Like many beer producers, Excelsior struggled to stay afloat during Prohibition by selling “near beer” — while also smuggling the real stuff to bootleggers.
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Hupfel's Brewery
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Hupfel's Brewery

During Prohibition, this brewery utilized their insulated caves (that had been quarried for beer aging and storage) and became a mushroom farm. The ruins of the Hupfel Brewery are the only brewery structures still standing in the Bronx.
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