Lillie's Victorian Establishment

Prediction:  This place an awesome testament to the Victorian Period.

At Lillie's:
I love Victorian stuff. I love the ornateness of the furniture, the patterns, the fabrics, and the design. So, as I walked from Pier 86 to the R/W train in Times Square, I was sucked into Lillie’s Victorian Establishment. The sign in front read “Est. 1901,” and the facade appeared to be a preserved relic from the City’s early bohemian hay-day. As I walked in, I was blown away by the detail of the place: marble bar, stained glass, lights, paintings, posters, mirrors, pressed tin ceiling, rod-iron rails, neo-classical architectural details, etc. The first thing I asked the hostess was does the place serve any drink specials popular in Victorian times, to which she disappointingly answered “no”—my first clue that something was up. 

On the menu’s inside cover is a story on the bar’s namesake, Lillie Langtry, an English born immigrant actress. She arrived to the U.S. in 1882 seeking a career in the theatre. As the story goes, after her debut the theatre burned down and the only discernable thing left was her name from the marquee lying intact amongst the ash. She went on to a long career and fame that lasted more than fifty years. Without explanation, the menu goes on to note that Lillie was “a controversial figure who challenged Victorian society’s attitudes to[ward] women” and that she was “ahead of her time.” Also presented on the menu was the establishment’s motto: “Celebrating friendship the old-fashioned way.” Further, the menu talks up the establishment’s representation as one of the last great Victorian “gin palaces” that once flourished in the industrial cities of Northern Ireland and England. Wait…what…? This is New York City, and this place was supposedly established in 1901…? Does that mean in 1901 the founder of Lillie’s was trying to recreate a scene from the “old country?”

After reading the information on the menu and admiring the material present throughout, I sought to engage the bartender to find out more. It was then that I learned that the bar had been open only five years and that most of the material present was shipped over after some Irish mansion was dismantled and its contents repurposed for the creation of this establishment. To my question, “then why does it say “Est. 1901” on the sign,” the bartender shrugged his shoulders and, in a seemingly authentic Irish accent, said, “maybe that’s when the building was built.” So, where am I? What is this? Is the place a hoax...a tourist trap…? And, was that accent real? (On a side note, of the four bartenders that waited on me in two days in NY, three had Irish accents. Is there a public appeal for Irish bartenders? Is there an appeal for the perception of having an Irish bartender, or simply an affection for Irish accents? Does that sell more drinks? Are the bartenders perhaps trying actors working on their craft? And, why Irish?)

So, while Lillie’s story may be true, the material may be real, and the scene may have been historically accurate, the reality is that this establishment is more of a piece of historical fiction than it is actual history. However, the bar certainly begs the question, is historical fiction history? Several additional intriguing questions come to mind as well: is it OK that an establishment deliberately presents itself, directly or not, being older than it is?; does the bar’s potentially deceptive presentation of itself as a 116-year-old establishment negate the possibility of it representing history at all?; does anything about the place make it a museum?

Between the real estate, the purchasing and importing of the material, the design, and the construction Lillie’s took significant capital to develop. The fact that this bar exists near New York’s biggest tourist attraction, Times Square, and in the heart of Broadway, coupled with the significant investment to build it, suggests that there is a strong market for consumption of the Victorian Period. This prompts further intriguing questions about who the intended audience is and what is behind that audience’s interest to imbibe at such a place? Do people have a romantic desire to feel as though they’ve traveled back in time? Is there a desire to feel like they’re experiencing history? Is there a significant affection or romantic affection for the Victorian Period that draws people in? Is it for tourists, theatre goers, a novelty for post-work happy hour, or unsuspecting consumers of history? For me, it was a desire to hit another historic place on my NY sojourn in addition to an affection not for the Victorian Period, but for Victorian stuff. But I’ll leave it to the reader to determine whether this stop should count as one of my summer historic site visits? Was this history? One final question: is it a bad thing that someone can walk in, have a drink, a conversation, and leave thinking they’ve actually been somewhere historic and had a Victorian experience? One more: what does this seeming affection for things Irish suggest about American history and American culture? Ok, I promise last one, but perhaps the most important one…what impact does historical fiction have on historical memory?