Sunset at Pier 45, Then a Fifteen Minute Walk to Julius'
When the clocks change, the light leaves the Hudson before five. A pier that faces the river and a bar that has stood on this corner since 1864 sit fifteen minutes apart, close enough to watch the sun go and still get in before dark.
Pier 45 to Julius' on West 10th
🌅 Be at the rail before the sun goes
From early November through mid-January the sun is gone before five, so be at the rail twenty minutes early. Cross West Street where Christopher Street ends, pass the tree grove at the foot of the pier, and keep walking west under the white canopy until the railing and open water. The Hudson runs between you and New Jersey, and the sun drops behind that far bank a little south of due west. From November through winter the wind comes straight off the water, so bring a jacket and gloves, and expect the deck to empty fast once the light goes.
🚶 Fifteen minutes inland to a Sip-In landmark
Walk east on Christopher Street to Seventh Avenue South, then north one block to West 10th, where the bar sits a few doors east of the avenue at Waverly Place. Fifteen minutes on foot from the railing at the end of the pier, closer to ten if you turn back at the pier entrance, with the streetlights on and the afterglow fading behind you. Hours and the cash-only rule follow the bar's own schedule, so check them for the day you go. On April 21, 1966, Mattachine Society members staged their Sip-In here and were refused a drink. The reaction from the State Liquor Authority and the city's Human Rights Commission changed the policy.
🧭 Make it a weekly appointment
The sun sets earlier every week from November into early December, then climbs back toward five by mid-January, so check the exact minute for your date instead of trusting a rule of thumb. Plan the pier for twenty minutes before sunset and the second stop never moves. Wind off the river and steady rain are the nights to skip the pier and go straight to West 10th, where the room is warm and the plan still holds.
