♪ >> loy: some people say it's the most famous place you've never heard of. that's where we are. well, when you start getting down to the detail of it this is historic neirs tavern. >> anthony: back in the 1820's when queens was still mostly farmland and live stock rather than the seven train was what rumbled down what became jamaica avenue. the manager of a racetrack called the union course opened a nearby tavern to accommodate the gamblers and lay-abouts who frequented his track. it was called the blue pump room. in later iterations it became the old abbey, the union course tavern and finally neirs tavern. the neirs family, german immigrants added a bowling alley, a ballroom and a hotel after the racetrack closed in 1898 and renamed the place neirs social hall.