Tracing Hemingway’s Brief Greenwich Village Sojourn

Long before he achieved global literary fame, an eighteen-year-old Ernest Hemingway found himself in Greenwich Village during a transformative period of his youth. In May 1918, the aspiring journalist checked into the Hotel Earle—now known as the Washington Square Hotel—at 103 Waverly Place.

At the time, Hemingway had recently departed his position at the *Kansas City Star*. According to historical records, he utilized the hotel as a base of operations while preparing for his deployment to Europe as a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Red Cross during the First World War. His correspondence from this period provides a rare glimpse into his life just before he departed for Italy, where he would later sustain injuries that heavily influenced his seminal 1929 novel, *A Farewell to Arms*.

The Washington Square Hotel, which evolved through the consolidation of several properties on Waverly Place, has long served as a temporary residence for notable cultural figures. Beyond Hemingway, the site has hosted a diverse array of artists, including Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, and members of the Rolling Stones, cementing its status as a landmark of the neighborhood’s creative history.

While Hemingway’s initial stay was brief, his name is also frequently linked to the Minetta Tavern at 113 MacDougal Street. Although the tavern did not open until 1937—nearly two decades after his 1918 visit—it became a well-documented hub for the literary and artistic community. Writers such as Eugene O’Neill and E.E. Cummings were known to frequent the establishment, reflecting the South Village’s long-standing reputation as a gathering place for the city’s intellectual circles.

Preservationists note that these sites remain vital for understanding the neighborhood's cultural evolution. The Washington Square Hotel is situated within the Greenwich Village Historic District, while the Minetta Tavern falls under the protection of the South Village Historic District. These designations ensure that the physical spaces where significant historical figures lived and socialized remain intact, allowing the public to engage with history beyond the pages of a book.