Old Grapevine

{{Short description|Former tavern in New York City}}

The Old Grapevine was a tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and 11th Street.{{cite web|title=Village Landmarks - The Old Grapevine Tavern|url=http://www.nypl.org/blog/2009/03/28/village-landmarks-old-grapevine-tavern|publisher=New York Public Library|accessdate=6 February 2014}} 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.{{cite web|title=Greenwich Village's legendary Grapevine Tavern|date=30 September 2009 |url=http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/greenwich-villages-legendary-grapevine-tavern/|publisher=Ephemeral New York|accessdate=6 February 2014}} 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 attracted many politicians including U.S. President Chester A. Arthur who visited the tavern many times.{{cite news|date=18 July 1915|title=PASSING OF THE OLD GRAPEVINE|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/07/18/104015157.pdf|accessdate=6 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times}} It was demolished in 1915.