The Old Grapevine was a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...
in the
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
neighborhood of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
at the southeast corner of
Sixth Avenue and
11th Street.
The tavern was located in a three-story roadhouse built in the 18th century and was originally called the Hawthorne. It was later named after a grapevine that grew on one of its walls.
It was a hangout for artists, actors, businessmen, lawyers, Confederate spies, and Union officers.
The high concentration of Civil War Soldiers made it an ideal place to hear (or plant) military gossip, leading some to believe the idiom "heard it through the grapevine" originated here.
The nearby
Jefferson Market Courthouse
The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Gree ...
attracted many politicians including U.S. President
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...
who visited the tavern many times.
It was demolished in 1915.
References
Drinking establishments in Greenwich Village
Buildings and structures demolished in 1915
1915 disestablishments in New York (state)
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