McHale’s Was a Real New York Bar
The Theater District bar, which closed in 2006, was the sort of working class place that no longer exists in Times Square, or in the city as a whole.
- story: Robert Simonson
- illustration: Lauren Cierzan
The Last True New York Newspaper Bar
Bull Moose Saloon was a hangout for the staff of the Observer in an era where everything seemed to matter both more and less.
- story: M.H. Miller
- illustration: Nick Hensley-Wagner
Everything Felt Cursed After Carrie Nation Closed
Before it became Ginger’s, the Brooklyn gay bar was its very own neighborhood opera.
- story: Alexander Chee
- illustration: Lydia Ortiz
Mermaid Lounge Was a Total Circus
The New Orleans music venue was a bastion of consequence-free chaos and eccentricity.
- story: Franz Nicolay
- photo: Nancy Laskowski Maas
Tell Me Your Double Door Story
In its prime, the Chicago rock club meant something different to everyone.
- story: Megan Stielstra
- photo: Double Door
The Paris Dive That Vanished Without a Trace
During its idiosyncratic reign, Le Fitzcarraldo adopted a chameleon-like existence, changing forms every other month. Then one day, it disappeared all together.
- story: Toby Cecchini
- illustration: Nick Hensley-Wagner
Where Have All the Tortured Punks Gone?
Grimy, dark and relentlessly unapologetic, Mars Bar was among the final bastions of a bygone New York.
- story: Rosie Schaap
- photo: Dennis Crowley
The Country Music Joint That Nearly Saved Calgary
A Bar Named Sue was the coolest bar you’ve never heard of, in a town you’ve never been to.
- story: Brandy Jensen
- photo: Jeremy Hood
LA’s Last Great LGBT Piano Bar
The Other Side was a “best friend” to a generation of LGBT bar goers who were left wondering: Where will we go now?
- story: Besha Rodell
- illustration: Shannon Knight
