Patent Pending

Electrical inventor Nikola Tesla lived and experimented in Manhattan’s Gerlach Hotel in 1896. The landmark is now known as the Radio Wave Building, and it pays homage to Tesla’s influence through obvious means, such as its name and a commemorative plaque. It also houses a more latent tribute: the 34-seat, Tesla-themed speakeasy called Patent Pending.

According to Patent Pending’s website, “This is the building in which Nikola Tesla lived and performed his experiments on radio waves, transmitting them to his laboratory near present-day Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan. The ‘waves’ which guided you here (GPS) and surround you now (WiFi) were envisioned by Tesla more than a century ago.”