The Old Growler Remembers The White Horse Tavern

The Old Growler Remembering the White Horse Tavern

The History of The White Horse Tavern

The White Horse Tavern, a historic, no-fuss dive located at 567 Hudson Street in Greenwich Village, opened in 1880. The White Horse was initially opened as a longshoreman's bar.
Back in the late 19th century, European immigrants flocked to that part of the Village. Italian immigrants settled into more well-to-do pockets of the Greenwich Village back then. Still, the White Horse Tavern area—a stone's throw from the city's first elevated train line—was predominantly Irish.

A Hotbed of Organizers

In the 1930s and 1940s, the White Horse was a gathering place for labor members and organizers, and socialists. The Catholic Workers hung out here, and the idea for the Village Voice was discussed here.
Legend has it that the Village Voice (RIP) idea was born over drinks at the bar, known colloquially as "The Horse."

The bar cemented its reputation as a bohemian hang out by the fifties, though, when literary figures were known to drink there. William Styron and Norman Mailer frequented the bar, partially because New Directions publisher James Laughlin had a place nearby. Authors would often stay there when they were in town. And most famously, the White Horse is where Welsh poet Dylan Thomas swilled his final drinks before his death; his portrait still hangs by his usual seat.
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation notes that Jack Kerouac was ejected from the bar so often that someone took it upon themselves to carve "JACK GO HOME!" on a bathroom stall.

Gone but not Forgotten.

The bar received a historic landmark designation in 1969, which has helped keep it somewhat intact. In 1920 the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation submitted a request to the City's Landmarks Preservation Commission, arguing that the bar's interior should be a landmark as well. In any case, whatever happens, The White Horse as we knew it is no more.


How I Discovered the White Horse Tavern

From 2016 through 2019, it was my pleasure to enjoy the ambiance and bar life of one of the finest dive bars in New York City.

In the early afternoon, I would walk the two and a half miles from Brooklyn, across the Manhattan Bridge, up Elizabeth Street to Bleeker Street, across town to Hudson Street, and then up to the White Horse Tavern.

In the Spring and Autumn, it was a refreshing experience. It was an effort well worth the beer, food, and conversation at the trek's end in the summer and winter.

Sources:

https://gothamist.com/food/a-brief-hi...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_H...)


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The Old Growler Remembering the White Horse Tavern
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