The Beer Garden at Bohemian Hall

Here's the beauty of having a blog. I've wanted to experience and write about what is widely publicized as New York's last beer garden for more years than I care to relate, but had no real basis on which to pitch to a publication. It's already been covered extensively and my track record is in arts writing. So, by the beard of Good King Wenceslaus, I'll do it for the blog.

In the 19th century, beer gardens (mostly German or Austrian, but some "Bohemian", meaning Czech) were a huge cultural mainstay in NYC and other major US cities, when they were teeming with immigrants from those parts. Many of the vaudevillians in these annals got their starts working in such establishments, as singing waitstaff, and the like. These types of venues existed into the 20th century. One is depicted in the silly musical Moonlight and Pretzels, reviewed here. By the end of the 20th century though, the Beer Garden at Bohemian Hall in Astoria Queens was rumored to be the last one. (I recently saw what looked like a brand new German one over near the waterfront in Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago, however. I guess I'll have to check that out too. )

But of course, my timing as usual was off. Because it is OCTOBER, the month that usually precedes FEST in a beer-swilling context, I was expecting throngs of jolly, red-cheeked villagers shouting folk songs to the sound of an accordion. But of course it is a Tuesday night, and it is also OCTOBER, when we begin to see our breaths and our cheeks are red not with warmth but with cold. So it was me and Becky Byers, choreographer of my upcoming saloon show at Bowery Poetry Club, and perhaps a couple of dozen quiet, sedate folks out in the enormous beer drinking pen. Here they are:

The pumpkin ale we quaffed was quite delicious. No doubt it came from this fellows' skull:

Alright! Check another one off the bucket list!