By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — Landmark bar McSorley's Old Ale House celebrated its 157th anniversary Civil War-style on Thursday with a historical reenactment outside the longtime 7th Street saloon.
Actors dressed in 19th-century garb fired off muskets in the street to ring in another year for the famous pub, considered one of the oldest continuously operating taverns in the city.
"We're lucky enough to still be here," said McSorley's owner Matthew Maher, 71, who's been working at the bar since 1964 and took it over in '77.
"Those are the people that keep us here," he said, gesturing to his packed house on Thursday afternoon. "We don't keep them here — they keep us here."
An actor playing Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address before the crowd, as patrons sipped on endless mugs of the bar's trademark "light" or "dark" ales.
"Everyone comes back to re-associate with the virtues and values we all grew up with," said Rich Kiernan, 57, a bartender at McSorley's for the past 16 years, speaking of the historical-themed celebration. "Family, freedom and the pursuit of happiness."
Ed McKinney, 50, has been a regular at McSorley's since the early '80s, when he used to work around the corner and would stop in for lunch or an after-work drink.
"It's like a living museum," said the Long Island City resident, adding that he used to plan his vacation around the bar's anniversary celebration. "I've known the bartenders here for 25 years, so it's like coming home. The history is so fantastic."
Kiernan said the event always brings out an old-time crowd — "everyone's over 50" — to celebrate the no-frills "ideology" McSorley's has maintained through the decades.
"It's melting pot of many generations who have come here before me — and probably [will] after me."
Maher added that the event ultimately marks just another year in the saloon's storied history.
"We'll be here for many more," he said.
