Looking for a new watering hole? Oscar Wilde is New York City’s latest space dedicated to the eponymous Irish writer, and it also happens to be home to the city’s longest continuous bar (at 118.5 feet long, it beats out the previous title holder, Tracks in Penn Station). The over-the-top bar is filled with antiques from the Victorian era of Wilde’s life, and from the countries in which he lived: England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. AD walked the space (which opened on August 16) with co-owner Frank McCole, who sourced all the antiques himself and, along with partner Tommy Burke, got all the tongue-in-cheek details just right—from one-armed stools for a quick “Irish exit” to an 1878 walking stick gifted by Wilde’s family.
Architectural Digest: What inspired the theme of this new bar?
Frank McCole: We wanted to celebrate the life and times of Oscar Wilde. He was an eccentric and I think we Irish are very, very proud of him. He represented us and our craziness, a bit off-center, a little bit, which we are, and that’s a good thing!
AD: Why did you choose the NoMad neighborhood?
FMC: This neighborhood is changing; it’s up-and-coming. And there are young people here now. It’s going to be Meatpacking, but all New Yorkers. The only problem with Meatpacking, I feel, is that the tourists come in so there are no New Yorkers there. Here, it’s people that live and work in the area. I love it because it’s kind of a dirty sleaze with all the liquor stores in the area. But, the main reason for this particular building was, this was the headquarters for prohibition, one floor up, and above that was the mob, and they were listening in on where the new raids were going to be. So putting a bar below it is just such an irony.
AD: Where did you source all the antiques?
FMC: We sourced everything is England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, for the reason that that’s where he was from, Irish but he lived in England. And we have a couple French pieces as well because he died in France. It was just many, many trips and a good excuse to get out of the city. So we spent almost every four months in Europe, picking up antiques at auctions and estate sales, mostly estate sales. We also have a lot of pieces that we’ve been gathering over the years as well. Some I took out of Ireland 30 years ago from Hope Castle [in County Monaghan], when the Franciscan nuns got up and left the castle. That’s where the Hope Diamond was. I was a kid at the time, maybe three or four years old, and my father brought me down to look at it and all the tables were set and they’d just disappeared overnight, all 84 of them. Later there was an auction and my father bought a lot of the antiques from it and I inherited them when he passed. This was just a great place to put them all.
AD: What is the oldest piece in the place?
FMC: The oldest piece is the French-Belgian player piano from the 1890s, but the paneling in the back is probably from the 1700s. It’s the original wood paneling from Hope Castle. The floor is original but we had it refinished by a guy who does all the refinishing for the Catholic Church in Ireland, so he came over and spent a couple weeks here.
AD: Let’s talk about this marble bar.
FMC: All the marble we got hand-cut in Vietnam, in a factory where there’s no slave labor. We made sure we got that right. We spent two weeks in the factory, me and my partner Tommy [Burke]. You went to the yard and you picked the marble you want and it’s all very dull and they polish a bit for you. The blocks are maybe 10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet, just a lovely little rock.
AD: How are you certain this is the longest bar in New York City?
FMC: Yes, it’s 118.5 feet long, and if you research it, the previous longest bar was called Tracks [in Penn Station]. And one of our architects, he certified and measured it. In keeping Oscar Wilde, we want to be over-the-top at something but we want it to be verified.
AD: Any other antiques to highlight?
FMC: We have 26 antique clocks and they’re all set at ten to two, which is the time Oscar died. So, our closing time is two o’clock and we ring the bell and your last drink is on the house. . . . In the bar, we’re hoping to celebrate all sexualities, all religions, all people. That’s what life is really about: Bring everybody back together again.
Visit Oscar Wilde at 45 West 27th Street; 11 A.M. to 2 A.M. daily.
