Home > New York Bars & Clubs > Neighborhood > White Horse Tavern

Today, this West Village landmark is known largely the bustling (if not slightly irritating) crowds on weekends, an abundance of comfy outdoor picnic tables in the spring and a better-than-good grilled cheese sandwich, but it's the tavern's historical past that keeps it interesting. Opened in 1880, it was originally a longshoremen's gathering place until the 1950s and '60s, when well regarded bohemian writers of the era starting dropping by. Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison and Jane Jacobs were among its famed clientele, yet it was the death of poet Dylan Thomas that elevated the tavern to infamy (Thomas allegedly downed 18 straight whiskeys before dropping dead later that same day). Around the same time, The Catholic Workers began hanging out and the idea for the Village Voice was conceived, and much of the paper's early content was discussed here. Today, the two-roomed space offers a decent selection of beer, with seven on tap and 13 in bottles as well as an assortment of satisfying pub grub

See more:

West Village bars, Neighborhood bars, Pub bars