P J Clarke's Saloon

P. J. Clarke's is a famous saloon, established 1884 and occupying a building located at 915 3rd Avenue on the northeast corner of 55th Street in New York City. The bar was once owned by a Patrick J. Clarke, an Irish emigrant who was hired in the early 1900s by a Mr. Duneen who ran the saloon. After about ten years working for him Clarke bought the bar and changed the name. The building is a holdout and is surrounded by 919 3rd Avenue, a 47-story skyscraper. Clarke's former owners, the Lavezzo brothers, signed a deal in which the building housing the saloon was sold for $1.5 million and a 99-year lease was signed with Tishman Realty and Construction. However due to financial reverses the Lavezzos were forced to sell their interest to a consortium, which includes George Steinbrenner, Timothy Hutton, and others. The building was originally a four-story structure. It lost the top two floors when the skyscraper went up in the late 1960s.