Harvey's Chelsea House Bar Reborn: A Closer Look

Last week I reported the astounding news that the 1880s-era bar that had once lived inside the old Harvey's Chelsea House, in Chelsea, has somehow survived the destruction of that building in 2006 and now sat inside The Bar Room, a new bar and restaurant on E. 60th off Lexington.

I, of course, had to lay my eyes on this wonder myself, and wasted no time getting there, visiting over the past weekend. The bar is indeed there. My eyes recognized it, and the bartender confirmed the testimony of my senses.

The bartenders said that the bar used to be longer and had to be slightly shortened to fit the space. Otherwise, it was the same: the grandfather clock embedded on the right-hand side of the bar; the etched glass cabinets; even the massive gold cash register at the center of the bar.

The checkered floor was installed in homage of a similar floor that once lined Harvey's Chelsea House.

Other parts of Harvey's Chelsea House also survived, included the ornate ceiling railing seen below.  The back dining room does a good job at aping the style of late-19th-century taverns.

All in all, I'd have to say The Bar Room stands as one of the handsomest bar interiors in the City, in the league of P.J. Clarke's, Old Town Bar and a few others.