The art includes a kitschy Last Supper by Marco Sincoegui that casts Jim Morrison as Jesus and Richard Nixon as Judas1. True to its name, Art Bar has displayed art throughout since the outset1.
In the 1950s and 1960s, 52 Eighth Avenue was the address of Sea Colony, a well-known working-class lesbian bar1. Its relaunch as a bar came at the hands of Abraham Merchant, who opened it with a coworker after a few years in the restaurant industry1. At one point motorcycle gangs made it a regular hangout1.
We called it surprisingly low-key for a location fast becoming anything but, and we liked the big booths that wrapped almost into a full circle, the couches in the back and the wood-burning fireplace.
It's still at 52 Eighth Avenue, between Jane and Horatio Streets, open every day from four in the afternoon until four in the morning2. In October 2026 Village Preservation made it Business of the Month, for more than three decades of making art appreciation more social1.
Researched October 2026.
