Billy McGlory
Encyclopedia
William "Billy" McGlory was an American
saloon keeper and underworld figure in New York City
during the mid-to late 19th century. He was a popular character in the Bowery and Five Points
districts owning a number of popular establishments throughout the city, most notably McGlory's Armory Hall, up until the turn of the century
. An member of the Forty Thieves
and the Chichesters
in his youth, McGlory's Armory Hall remained a popular Bowery hangout for members of the underworld in the old Fourth and Sixth Wards during the late 1870s and 1880s.
. He grew up in an atmosphere of vice and crime, prior to the reform efforts of Reverend Lewis Morris Pease and the Five Points House of Industry during the mid 1850s, and as a young man was a member of both the Forty Thieves
and the Chichesters
. Former NYPD police chief George W. Walling described him in his memoirs as "a man out of whom forty devils might be cast if it were it possible to get at him." One of the first saloons he ever opened, known as the "Burnt Rag", was formerly occupied by Owen Geoghegan and, when Geoghegan relocated his saloon, McGlory moved in next door.
, in the late 1870s. It was described by a journalist for the Cincinnati Inquirer as having "a beastliness and depravity... compared with which no chapter in the world's history is equal." It very quickly became a popular underworld resort, frequented by thieves, pickpockets, and procurers throughout the old Fourth and Sixth Wards for nearly two decades. Armory Hall was often the scene of barroom brawls and gang violence. Drunken customers were robbed, many times by the female regulars who flirted with the victim beforehand, and then dragged from a table by a bouncer
and thrown out into the street. Once outside, the victim would be searched by for anything of value and was usually stripped of his clothes.
In January 1879, McGlory was indicted for running a disorderly house
. When he failed to show up in court the following month, his $500 bail was forfeited but no further action was taken. It was the robbery of a contractor, Bernard Lee, and others that prompted District Attorney John McKeon
to search for untried indictments against McGlory. He found three and took them to Recorder Frederick Smythe who then ordered McGlory to appear before the General Sessions court. Though McGlory's lawyer requested bail be set at $500, McKeon raised an objection which was supported by Recorder Smythe and raised to $1,000. As a result of this trial, McGlory spent time in The Tombs
.
Many of the much feared bouncers of McGlory's Armory Hall were well-known criminals and hired thugs of the Five Points and the New York waterfront. These men were described as "some of the most expert rough-and-tumble fighters of the period" and could be seen walking the club freely wearing pistols, knives, brass knuckles, and bludgeons which they often used against unruly or otherwise uncooperative customers.
Armory Hall was entered from the street through a double doorway, which led into a long, narrow passageway with its walls pained "dead black". Fifty feet down the unlighted passage was the barroom and from there the main dance hall, furnished with chairs and tables, which accommodated up to 700 people. The music played in the dance hall included a piano, a cornet and a violin. A balcony ran around two sides of the hall with small box seats, some containing secret compartments, separated by heavy curtains reserved for wealthy patrons. These were usually out-of-towners who were known as big spenders in the city's many resorts and clubs. Private exhibitions were held in these boxes "even more degraded then the Haymarket" and McGlory, as an added attraction, employed half a dozen half young males as waitresses "dressed in feminine clothing and circulated through the crowd, singing and dancing." They were "painted like women" and spoke in high, falsetto voices. As well as the many prostitutes and "serving girls" working in the dance hall, the concert saloon was widely known for encouraging homosexual activity among its patrons. McGlory also held athletic events at Armory Hall and charged 15 cents to attend these promotions. In 1883, his Grand Scarlet Ball included a cakewalk
, mixed boxing match
es, a beauty contest
and a masquerade ball
.
, who titled him the "Vicar General." He was one of several prominent figures, along with police officials, politicians, and sportsmen, who attended the bare-knuckle boxing
prize fight between John L. Sullivan
and Paddy Ryan
at Madison Square Garden
on January 19, 1885.
Upon the election, reform Mayor Abram S. Hewitt, who promised to clean up the vice
and red light district
s in New York City, closed many of the famous resorts, including Harry Hill's
, Frank Stephenson
's The Black and Tan, Theodore Allen
's American Mabille and, in lower Manhattan, the Haymarket. Authorities finally attempted to close Armory Hall in 1889, although their efforts were initially met with some difficulty. In a meeting with Mayor Hugh J. Grant in February, McGlory claimed that he had been trying to rent the building out as a church but had been unable to find tenants. A month later, police visited Armory Hall and reported they had witnessed nothing obscene or improper, "not even a cancan." McGlory sold the building to a furniture manufacturer soon after, auctioning off he bar, piano, icebox, and stage scenery in June 1889.
A year later, McGlory bought the Hotel Irving, a respectable restaurant and boarding house in uptown Manhattan, and turned it into an all-night saloon and dance hall. The Hotel Irving was located on the corner of Fourteenth Street
and Irving Place, across the street from the New York Academy of Music and nearby Tammany Hall
and Tony Pastor's place. Complaints were made about the noise and violence but police did not take action until an exposé
by the New York Herald prompted city officials to take action. The hotel's liquor license was revoked in June but McGlory continued to sell alcohol even after his bartender, Edward Kelly, was arrested. District Attorney De Lancey Nicoll
ordered McGlory's arrest and, in December 1891, he stood trial at the Court of General Sessions for running a disorderly house.
At the trial, the Irving's manager Frederick Krause appeared as the state's witness and described how McGlory "muscled" his way into running the hotel despite McGlory having no financial ties to the Hotel Irving. Edward Corey, the former owner of the Haymarket, had legitimately purchased an interest in the hotel but was chased out by McGlory and threatened his life if he ever returned. In another incident, according to Krause, he himself was assaulted by McGlory when the hotel manager attempted to stop a suspicious looking couple from using one of the rooms. Other charges, aside from liquor law violations, were claimed by prostitute Nellie Martin, bookmaker Samuel Gugginheim, as well as additional witnesses who testified to other serious allegations.
, McGlory told reporters claimed he intended to leave New York and move out West.
McGlory was arrested once more on the night of May 30, 1903, and charged with running a Third Avenue saloon without a liquor license. He was tried at the Morrisania Court two days later and explained to Judge Mayo that he had applied for a hotel license instead of a regular liquor license and hadn't intended to violate the law. The arresting detectives told the court they had arrested him because the brewery had taken away the establishment's license. Bail was set at $500 but McGlory was unable to pay it and he was taken to Harlem Prison to await trial. He met a young man while in prison, Warren Adams, who was being held for public drunkenness. Adams had traveled from Boston to attend a funeral and was arrested after he'd had a few too many drinks. Judge Mayo had sentenced him to prison in default of a $3 fine that Adams was unable to pay being only a dollar short. McGlory offered to pay the spare dollar. When Adams promised to mail him back the money from Boston, McGlory replied "Well, if you do it will be the first dollar that ever came back to me."
s Scarlet Women: A Novel (1996) by J. D. Christilian, Hickok and Cody (2001) by Matt Braun and A Passionate Girl (2004) by Thomas Fleming.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
saloon keeper and underworld figure in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during the mid-to late 19th century. He was a popular character in the Bowery and Five Points
Five Points, Manhattan
Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...
districts owning a number of popular establishments throughout the city, most notably McGlory's Armory Hall, up until the turn of the century
Turn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
. An member of the Forty Thieves
40 Thieves
The Forty Thieves — likely named after Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves — was the first organized street gang in New York's history. Primarily consisting of Irish immigrants, they terrorized the Five Points intersection in New York City, New York....
and the Chichesters
Chichesters
The Chichesters were an early Five Points street gang during the mid 19th century in New York. The gang began stealing from stores and warehouses and selling the stolen goods to local fences in 1820s, later becoming involved in illegal gambling and robbery...
in his youth, McGlory's Armory Hall remained a popular Bowery hangout for members of the underworld in the old Fourth and Sixth Wards during the late 1870s and 1880s.
Early life and criminal career
Billy McGlory was born in the slums of the Five PointsFive Points, Manhattan
Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...
. He grew up in an atmosphere of vice and crime, prior to the reform efforts of Reverend Lewis Morris Pease and the Five Points House of Industry during the mid 1850s, and as a young man was a member of both the Forty Thieves
40 Thieves
The Forty Thieves — likely named after Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves — was the first organized street gang in New York's history. Primarily consisting of Irish immigrants, they terrorized the Five Points intersection in New York City, New York....
and the Chichesters
Chichesters
The Chichesters were an early Five Points street gang during the mid 19th century in New York. The gang began stealing from stores and warehouses and selling the stolen goods to local fences in 1820s, later becoming involved in illegal gambling and robbery...
. Former NYPD police chief George W. Walling described him in his memoirs as "a man out of whom forty devils might be cast if it were it possible to get at him." One of the first saloons he ever opened, known as the "Burnt Rag", was formerly occupied by Owen Geoghegan and, when Geoghegan relocated his saloon, McGlory moved in next door.
McGlory's Armory Hall
McGlory opened McGlory's Armory Hall, located at 158 Hester StreetHester Street
Hester Street is a street in the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street stretches from Essex Street to Centre Street, with a discontinuity between Chrystie Street and Forsyth Street for Sara Delano Roosevelt Park....
, in the late 1870s. It was described by a journalist for the Cincinnati Inquirer as having "a beastliness and depravity... compared with which no chapter in the world's history is equal." It very quickly became a popular underworld resort, frequented by thieves, pickpockets, and procurers throughout the old Fourth and Sixth Wards for nearly two decades. Armory Hall was often the scene of barroom brawls and gang violence. Drunken customers were robbed, many times by the female regulars who flirted with the victim beforehand, and then dragged from a table by a bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
and thrown out into the street. Once outside, the victim would be searched by for anything of value and was usually stripped of his clothes.
In January 1879, McGlory was indicted for running a disorderly house
Disorderly house
In English criminal law a disorderly house is a house in which the conduct of its inhabitants is such as to become a public nuisance, or outrages public decency, or tends to corrupt or deprave, or injures the public interest; or a house where persons congregate to the probable disturbance of the...
. When he failed to show up in court the following month, his $500 bail was forfeited but no further action was taken. It was the robbery of a contractor, Bernard Lee, and others that prompted District Attorney John McKeon
John McKeon
John McKeon was an American lawyer and politician from New York.- Life :He was the son of Capt...
to search for untried indictments against McGlory. He found three and took them to Recorder Frederick Smythe who then ordered McGlory to appear before the General Sessions court. Though McGlory's lawyer requested bail be set at $500, McKeon raised an objection which was supported by Recorder Smythe and raised to $1,000. As a result of this trial, McGlory spent time in The Tombs
The Tombs
"The Tombs" is the colloquial name for the Manhattan Detention Complex, a jail in Lower Manhattan at 125 White Street, as well as the popular name of a series of preceding downtown jails, the first of which was built in 1838 in the Egyptian Revival style of architecture.The nickname has been used...
.
Many of the much feared bouncers of McGlory's Armory Hall were well-known criminals and hired thugs of the Five Points and the New York waterfront. These men were described as "some of the most expert rough-and-tumble fighters of the period" and could be seen walking the club freely wearing pistols, knives, brass knuckles, and bludgeons which they often used against unruly or otherwise uncooperative customers.
Armory Hall was entered from the street through a double doorway, which led into a long, narrow passageway with its walls pained "dead black". Fifty feet down the unlighted passage was the barroom and from there the main dance hall, furnished with chairs and tables, which accommodated up to 700 people. The music played in the dance hall included a piano, a cornet and a violin. A balcony ran around two sides of the hall with small box seats, some containing secret compartments, separated by heavy curtains reserved for wealthy patrons. These were usually out-of-towners who were known as big spenders in the city's many resorts and clubs. Private exhibitions were held in these boxes "even more degraded then the Haymarket" and McGlory, as an added attraction, employed half a dozen half young males as waitresses "dressed in feminine clothing and circulated through the crowd, singing and dancing." They were "painted like women" and spoke in high, falsetto voices. As well as the many prostitutes and "serving girls" working in the dance hall, the concert saloon was widely known for encouraging homosexual activity among its patrons. McGlory also held athletic events at Armory Hall and charged 15 cents to attend these promotions. In 1883, his Grand Scarlet Ball included a cakewalk
Cakewalk
The Cakewalk dance was developed from a "Prize Walk" done in the days of slavery, generally at get-togethers on plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around"...
, mixed boxing match
Mixed Boxing
Mixed Boxing is a term that refers to a boxing match that features a male boxer vs a female boxer. These fights are rarely sanctioned by any legitimate governing body, and are almost always intended to be a display in erotic exhibitionism. They are usually staged, well-rehearsed or otherwise...
es, a beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
and a masquerade ball
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
.
Close of the Armory and legal trouble
McGlory gained considerable notoriety from the press, especially from the New York HeraldNew York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
, who titled him the "Vicar General." He was one of several prominent figures, along with police officials, politicians, and sportsmen, who attended the bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing is the original form of boxing, closely related to ancient combat sports...
prize fight between John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
and Paddy Ryan
Paddy Ryan
Paddy Ryan was an Irish American boxer, and became his sport's world's heavyweight champion from May 30, 1880 when he won the title from Joe Goss until losing his title to John L. Sullivan on February 7, 1882....
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
on January 19, 1885.
Upon the election, reform Mayor Abram S. Hewitt, who promised to clean up the vice
Vice District
Vice District is one of six districts of the province Sechura in Peru.-References:...
and red light district
Red Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
s in New York City, closed many of the famous resorts, including Harry Hill's
Harry Hill (sportsman)
Harry Hill was an English-born American businessman, sportsman and saloonkeeper whose establishments were regular meeting places for sportsmen, gamblers and politicians as well as members of the criminal underworld of New York City during the late 19th century...
, Frank Stephenson
Frank Stephenson (saloon keeper)
Frank Stephenson was an American saloon keeper and underworld figure in New York City during the mid-to late 19th century. He was the owner of The Black and Tan, a popular Bowery basement bar located on Bleecker Street...
's The Black and Tan, Theodore Allen
Theodore Allen (saloon keeper)
Theodore Allen, or known simply as The Allen, was an American gambler, political organizer, saloon keeper and head of a criminal family in New York City during the mid-to late 19th century...
's American Mabille and, in lower Manhattan, the Haymarket. Authorities finally attempted to close Armory Hall in 1889, although their efforts were initially met with some difficulty. In a meeting with Mayor Hugh J. Grant in February, McGlory claimed that he had been trying to rent the building out as a church but had been unable to find tenants. A month later, police visited Armory Hall and reported they had witnessed nothing obscene or improper, "not even a cancan." McGlory sold the building to a furniture manufacturer soon after, auctioning off he bar, piano, icebox, and stage scenery in June 1889.
A year later, McGlory bought the Hotel Irving, a respectable restaurant and boarding house in uptown Manhattan, and turned it into an all-night saloon and dance hall. The Hotel Irving was located on the corner of Fourteenth Street
14th Street
14th Street may refer to several locations in the United States:*14th Street , New York City*14th Street Northwest and Southwest *Broad Street *14th Street Bridge *14th Street...
and Irving Place, across the street from the New York Academy of Music and nearby Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
and Tony Pastor's place. Complaints were made about the noise and violence but police did not take action until an exposé
Expose
Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to:-Technology:* Exposé , a window management tool for Mac OS X** Exposé clone, computer software which mimics the Mac OS X feature-Music:...
by the New York Herald prompted city officials to take action. The hotel's liquor license was revoked in June but McGlory continued to sell alcohol even after his bartender, Edward Kelly, was arrested. District Attorney De Lancey Nicoll
De Lancey Nicoll
De Lancey Nicoll was a New York County District Attorney.-Life:...
ordered McGlory's arrest and, in December 1891, he stood trial at the Court of General Sessions for running a disorderly house.
At the trial, the Irving's manager Frederick Krause appeared as the state's witness and described how McGlory "muscled" his way into running the hotel despite McGlory having no financial ties to the Hotel Irving. Edward Corey, the former owner of the Haymarket, had legitimately purchased an interest in the hotel but was chased out by McGlory and threatened his life if he ever returned. In another incident, according to Krause, he himself was assaulted by McGlory when the hotel manager attempted to stop a suspicious looking couple from using one of the rooms. Other charges, aside from liquor law violations, were claimed by prostitute Nellie Martin, bookmaker Samuel Gugginheim, as well as additional witnesses who testified to other serious allegations.
Final years
Although McGlory and a few other uptown resorts reopened in the aftermath of Mayor Hewitt's closures, none were able to regain their former prestige, and McGlory finally closed his last dance house in 1900. After aiding his wife Annie in a hearing by the New York Supreme CourtNew York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
, McGlory told reporters claimed he intended to leave New York and move out West.
McGlory was arrested once more on the night of May 30, 1903, and charged with running a Third Avenue saloon without a liquor license. He was tried at the Morrisania Court two days later and explained to Judge Mayo that he had applied for a hotel license instead of a regular liquor license and hadn't intended to violate the law. The arresting detectives told the court they had arrested him because the brewery had taken away the establishment's license. Bail was set at $500 but McGlory was unable to pay it and he was taken to Harlem Prison to await trial. He met a young man while in prison, Warren Adams, who was being held for public drunkenness. Adams had traveled from Boston to attend a funeral and was arrested after he'd had a few too many drinks. Judge Mayo had sentenced him to prison in default of a $3 fine that Adams was unable to pay being only a dollar short. McGlory offered to pay the spare dollar. When Adams promised to mail him back the money from Boston, McGlory replied "Well, if you do it will be the first dollar that ever came back to me."
In popular culture
Billy McGlory and Armory Hall appear in the historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
s Scarlet Women: A Novel (1996) by J. D. Christilian, Hickok and Cody (2001) by Matt Braun and A Passionate Girl (2004) by Thomas Fleming.
Further reading
- Costello, Augustine E. Our Police Protectors: History of the New York Police from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New York: A.E. Costello, 1885.
- Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.
- Hickey, John J. Our Police Guardians: History of the Police Department of the City of New York, and the Policing of Same for the Past One Hundred Years. New York: John J. Hickey, 1925.
- Mayer, Grace M. Once Upon a City: New York from 1890 to 1910. New York: Macmillan, 1958.
- Sloat, Warren. A Battle for the Soul of New York: Tammany Hall, Police Corruption, Vice, and Reverend Charles Parkhurst's Crusade Against Them, 1892-1895. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8154-1237-1