Dylan Thomas at the White Horse Tavern

By Roger Paradiso

White Horse Tavern • 567 Hudson Street

A few years ago the White Horse Tavern was for sale. Villagers were on notice that they were in danger of losing this historic tavern which was home base for many artists and now-old Villagers in the 50s and 60s.

Dylan Thomas hung out at the White Horse in the early 50s. The Welsh poet was best known for the poem Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night and a radio play Under Milk Wood.

People who hung out with Thomas were celebrities of the day, mostly writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin and Norman Mailer. It was rumored that Mailer and his future partners discussed the formation of the Village Voice there. Musicians also liked the vibes at the White Horse. The Clancy Brothers came often as did Jim Morrison from the Doors as well as Bob Dylan. In his book Chronicles, Dylan explained that he was inspired to change his name after he saw an article about jazz performer David Allyn and poems by Thomas.

Thomas was a giant in the writing world and still is to this day. His death is still a mystery. Legend has it that one particular night he was drinking with friends at the White Horse, his favorite tavern. He left because he felt ill and was mugged walking back to the Chelsea Hotel. Others say he returned to the Chelsea, where he became ill and was brought to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he died a few days later on November 9, 1953. Thomas died of pneumonia, a fatty liver and swelling of the brain according to the autopsy.

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

– Dylan Thomas

His memorial service was held at Church of St Luke’s in the Field at the corner of Hudson and Grove streets. His funeral took place two weeks later in Wales. Thomas is buried in the graveyard of St Martin’s Church, his grave marked by a simple white cross.

As for the White Horse Tavern today, we all pray and hope there is never an Irish wake for this historic tavern. The new owner, Eytan Sugarman, has restored the famous bar which opened in 1880, the second oldest bar in Manhattan. (The Fraunces Tavern in the Wall Street area opened in 1762.)

Sugarman has changed the menu which is more fashioned after the current crop of gentrified students and hipsters from Wall Street and Bleecker Street. It still serves a burger, but now you get a salad with it. I’m sure even the writers and longshoremen of Thomas’ day would eat a salad. It was a rough neighborhood back then as the Village piers brought in goods from around the world. And to be sure there were a lot of exports too. The salt of the earth worked and lived there and they made it the Village we are fond of today. Raise a glass to the past and a smile for these gentrified days.

The White Horse Tavern has always remained a tourist attraction and a haven for workers and artists. And there always will be a few of those around, we hope.