Cross Columbus from Vesuvio and look for William Saroyan Place, a short dead-end alley next to Tosca. At the back is Specs’ Twelve Adler Museum Cafe, a bar opened in 1968 by Richard “Specs” Simmons, a former merchant seaman.
The “museum” in the name is the room itself. The walls and cases hold maritime artifacts, union banners, scrimshaw, dollar bills, a piece of whale baleen, and decades of objects brought back by sailor and longshoreman regulars. Specs ran the bar until his death in 2016, and it continues under the same name and decor.
The bar opens in the late afternoon. The room is easiest to see before it fills in the evening. Beer, whiskey, and conversation are the program; there is no food beyond the cheese-and-saltines tray.
Part of a self-guided walking tour
