West End Bar, Historical bar and venue on Broadway, Manhattan, US.
West End Bar is a pub on Broadway in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, close to Columbia University. It serves food, drinks, and hosts regular events such as live music, trivia nights, and sports screenings.
The bar opened in 1911 and quickly became a regular stop for Columbia University students and faculty. Writers of the Beat Generation gathered here during the 1940s, and the place later drew student activists in the 1960s.
The bar sits steps from Columbia University and draws a crowd of students, professors, and locals who treat it as a neighborhood living room. On any given evening, tables fill with people reading, talking, or watching a game on one of the screens.
The bar is on Broadway near 114th Street and easy to reach on foot from the subway. Inside, the layout offers different seating areas, so it works for a solo visit as much as for a larger group.
Since 2004, the bar has brewed its own beer and created a signature drink called Ker O'Whack, a name drawn from Jack Kerouac, who was once a regular here. The drink sits quietly on the menu as a nod to a famous past guest.
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