In the front-page article about the sale of the building where the White Horse Tavern is, reference is made to Dylan Thomas and his having “his last drinks there and later died at St. Vincent’s.” He may well have had his last drink in New York there, but not his last drink. The truth of the matter, for I must dispel this story that has been told ever since, is that while on a speaking tour he contracted walking pneumonia. Upon returning to New York, he went straight to the Chelsea Hotel where a doctor was summoned from St. Vincent’s. The doctor totally misdiagnosed the pneumonia as strep throat and administered morphine. So, the story of his last drink before he kicked off is apocryphal to say the least. As to the subject of the article, the avarice of developers such as Mr. Croman and, I must add, the all-consuming octopus that NYU has become, all I can say is we can kiss the Greenwich Village we all love a goodbye, in all but name.
—Marc Felix, www.marcvillagewalk.com
