!["Pete's Tavern, 129 E. 18th Street, New York City, was established in 1864 and was frequented by the writer O. Henry, who lived nearby at 55 Irving Place from 1903 to 1907." by John Wisniewski, Flickr, CC 2.0 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/johngonefishing/23201752805)](https://www.pw.org/files/styles/literary_places/public/literary_site_images/ltpl_petes_tavern.jpg?itok=zSL6uG8F)
Pete’s Tavern, the oldest continuously operating tavern in New York City (founded in 1864), was famously the refuge of short story writer O. Henry (aka William Sydney Porter). He supposedly wrote “The Gift of the Magi” in a booth at Pete’s in 1905, back when the tavern was known as Healy’s.