The Waverly Inn and Garden

In 1844, two brick row houses were constructed on Bank Street in Greenwich Village, an area that rapidly evolved into a vibrant residential enclave for merchants, writers, and political radicals. By the early 1920s, the ground floors of 16 Bank Street were converted into 'Ye Waverly Inn,' a cozy neighborhood tavern catering to the neighborhood's burgeoning artistic and bohemian community. Over the decades, literary luminaries such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, and Eugene O'Neill frequented the establishment for intimate dinners beside its brick hearths.

In 2006, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, along with business partners, acquired and meticulously restored the historic property. The renovation preserved its low-beamed ceilings, dark wood paneling, and cozy booths while adding a famous floor-to-ceiling mural by artist Edward Sorel depicting notable Greenwich Village personalities. Today, the Waverly Inn remains an exclusive West Village dining destination that seamlessly blends historic 19th-century charm with modern culinary sophistication.

Throughout its nearly two centuries of continuous existence, the building has witnessed numerous unrecorded personal tragedies, tenant deaths, and neighborhood upheavals. The preservation of its original structural framing, brick chimneys, and cellar foundation has helped maintain both its vintage ambiance and its lingering spiritual legends.

The primary haunting legend at the Waverly Inn centers on the spirit of a young woman who reportedly lived and died in the building during the late 19th century. Local Greenwich Village folklore suggests she was the victim of an unsolved crime or an illicit romantic tragedy in one of the upper floor private apartments. According to long-time restaurant staff, her phantom figure—wearing a flowing dark Victorian dress with delicate white lace trim—is occasionally seen gliding silently across the rear dining room before vanishing into the shadows near the stairs leading to the upper private dining chambers.

Another persistent legend involves a former long-time tavern keeper from the Prohibition era of the 1920s. Legend says he hid illegal spirits in secret wall alcoves behind the heavy brick fireplaces and was deeply devoted to maintaining the building's cozy atmosphere. Restaurant workers claim his spirit returns after closing hours to inspect the dining rooms, often leaving the faint, comforting scent of sweet pipe tobacco or vintage French brandy lingering near the polished tavern bar counter.

Additional local tales describe mysterious occurrences in the enclosed garden patio. Diners seated near the historic brick ivy wall have reported hearing soft female laughter, gentle whisperings, and the rustle of heavy silk petticoats when no other patrons are nearby, leading many local historians to believe that multiple spectral entities inhabit the historic Greenwich Village footprint.

Employees, bartenders, and evening patrons at the Waverly Inn have documented an array of unusual paranormal encounters over several decades. The most common reports involve physical objects moving without human intervention—such as wine glasses sliding across polished wooden tables, heavy brass candleholders shifting positions, and silverware falling to the floor from secure serving stations.

Waitstaff working late night shifts after closing have reported hearing clear footsteps walking across empty floorboards overhead, doors gently latching on their own, and sudden temperature drops near the main fireplace when the fire is roaring. Several diners have captured unexplainable shadowy reflections in the vintage mirrors hanging in the dining alcoves.

In the basement prep area and wine storage cellars, employees have experienced uncomfortable feelings of being watched, accompanied by occasional faint disembodied calls of their names. Electrical anomalies, including flickering gas lanterns and sudden dimming of modern light fixtures, are also regularly cited by kitchen personnel.

The Waverly Inn occupies a pair of mid-nineteenth-century Federal/Greek Revival style brick row houses featuring low ceilings, exposed timber beams, dark wainscoting, and classic multi-pane sash windows. The interior design emphasizes intimacy and warmth, spread across several distinct dining spaces, including a front tavern room with a mahogany bar, a middle dining room anchored by twin brick fireplaces, and a heated glass-enclosed rear garden patio.

A defining architectural feature added during the 2006 restoration is the extensive wall mural by illustrator Edward Sorel, which covers the main dining room walls with caricatures of iconic Greenwich Village figures from Walt Whitman to Bob Dylan. The physical layout retains original narrow staircases, uneven pine floorboards, and historic brick fireplaces that evoke 19th-century New York hospitality.

The Waverly Inn and Garden is located at 16 Bank Street, near the intersection of Waverly Place in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The restaurant is open daily for dinner service from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM, with weekend brunch served on Saturdays and Sundays. Access to the tavern bar and dining rooms is open to restaurant patrons.

Given the restaurant's high popularity and intimate seating capacity, advance dining reservations are strongly advised. Visitors interested in the building's historic architecture and ghost lore should request seating in the main dining room near the historic fireplaces. The location is easily accessible via the New York City Subway, located a short walk from the 14th Street / 8th Avenue and Christopher Street stations.

The Waverly Inn's haunted reputation stems from its 180-year uninterrupted history in Greenwich Village, authentic 19th-century architecture, and consistent reports of ghostly encounters from staff and celebrity patrons alike. Its cozy, firelit atmosphere provides a rich and highly authentic setting for enduring New York City ghost stories and West Village paranormal lore, attracting curious dark tourism enthusiasts and ghost hunters from around the world.