Travel
A Slice of History in New York City
A walk leading to Dylan Thomas
It was a brisk and cloudy day when we decided to walk on the High-Line. An overground park traversing NYC streets below and sandwiched between exquisite architecture, this long walk (1.45 miles) is truly a unique treat — a sanctuary in the middle of the city’s hustle and bustle.
A winter walk here can seem stark because of the lack of greenery, but you can focus instead on the stunning new buildings around you. I couldn’t take my eyes off one of the apartment buildings with its space capsule-like look and floor-to-ceiling windows.
These buildings are residential and look onto the High-Line pathway. Some of them have little outdoor patios and shiny high-end barbecues on display. I remember wondering that if I had money to burn, I would probably live somewhere more private. This was clearly a playground for rich exhibitionists who liked to flaunt their wealth.
Moving on and reaching the end of the High-Line, we were starving! There are usually some cool food vendors on the walk itself but only in the warmer months. We climbed down the stairs to ground level and wondered where to eat. There are many options around including Shake Shack and other eateries, but I wanted something less generic and was very much in the mood to explore.
We walked aimlessly, taking in the trendy Meatpacking District full of tourists and designer stores. Live music caught our ears as we passed an Italian restaurant. Cars honked and moved slowly, frustrated at clueless tourists trying to figure out where to go.
I was craving fish and chips and we found a place nearby, but it was packed to the hilt and not very family-friendly. Then there it was in front of us. An old building with the sign ‘White Horse Tavern’ on it. A crowd of people were standing by it and getting a table there didn’t look promising. But we got lucky, and the hostess led us through possibly one of the most crowded bars I have walked into since college.
She led us through a narrow doorway to an even more crowded and noisy dining room. The tables were tiny and the volume was loud. I looked around and realized that this was a place of great historic significance. There was an old rocking horse perched near the ceiling. A small grandfather clock silently parked on a wall. I also spied an old, ornate, tin ceiling which must have looked down on so many things in the past.
We googled the location and spoke to our server, a lovely young girl from Georgia who was now living in the city. She told us that the pub dated back to the 1880s and all the fittings that I just described were the originals!
Google told me that this pub was originally where longshoremen used to gather after a hard day’s work at the docks. It later became a gathering place for artists and writers, most notably, a popular hangout for the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.
If you look at the picture below carefully, you will see one of his most famous poems (and one of my favorite ones) etched into a mirror. Here is an excerpt of that poem:
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.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
He was only 39 when he died very close to this pub, in 1953. He must have been such a tortured soul, to have drunk so heavily at the White House Tavern, a few days before his death. I wonder if he sat on the same chair as I did, looking at the same view as I was.
I didn’t get my fish and chips but tucked into a delectable goat’s cheese omelet paired with a drink. I took in the raucous atmosphere and vowed to come again, to sit in a different corner, to eat and to drink, but most importantly, to imagine that I was there back in the day when longshoremen drank hearty pints or poets penned masterpieces.
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