White Horse Tavern is a “love it” or “leave it” type place.

Personally, I never felt the vibe at this bar and restaurant.

But to others White Horse is a scene: an old tavern from 1880 that transitioned to an casual yet more upscale hangout; a favorite among the young, with lines out the door on the weekends. 

As for the famed poet Dylan Thomas, he loved White Horse - maybe a little too much.

Here, in 1953, the 39-year-old pneumonia-plagued poet is said to have apocryphally downed 18 straight shots of whiskey – which may (or may not) have contributed to his death hours later.

Over the years, Joan Baez, James Baldwin, Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison, Norman Mailer, Anais Nin and Mary Travers have all warmed to the tavern’s charms. 

As for you, you may love it, as well. Just call it a night after your second or third whiskey shot. The world needs your poetry.

CONTACT

https://whitehorsetavern1880.com

Dylan Thomas at White Horse Tavern in 1952

IMAGES

* Lead-In Image - White Horse Tavern / Facebook

* Dylan Thomas Image - Adler, Bunny. "Dylan Thomas photograph by Bunny Adler at the White Horse Tavern, New York City, [1952]." MSS 103s John Malcolm Brinnin papers supplement, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library.