White Horse Tavern, New York City

The claim

A West Village corner tavern opened in 1880 for Hudson River dockworkers that became a literary haunt in the 1950s. Dylan Thomas drank here shortly before his death in 1953, and James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac and Norman Mailer followed. Renovated after a 2019 sale, it still serves pub food, beer and cocktails on its Hudson Street corner.

What the records show

Wikipedia and the bar give 1880, when it opened as a longshoremen's bar; the literary reputation dates from the 1950s, and the bar was sold and renovated in 2019. No primary licence has been read. The federal register has now been searched by position, which this page had not done: the house has no entry of its own, and 567 Hudson Street falls inside the Greenwich Village Historic District, listed on the National Register on 18 June 1979. That is a finding about a large part of a borough rather than about this corner — the entry names no individual building and dates none — so nothing in it tests the 1880, and the year stands as the bar's own. Where the district helps is in what it prevents: the frame house on the corner is protected from demolition and alteration, which is part of why a longshoremen's bar of the 1880s still looks like one.

What to look for inside

Dylan Thomas drank here days before his death in 1953
Haunt of Kerouac, Baldwin and Mailer
Claims to be NYC's second-oldest bar

Visiting

White Horse Tavern is in New York City, United States, at 567 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.

whitehorsetavern1880.com Directions in your maps app