Locations in the US and UK are enjoying newfound fame after Taylor Swift referenced them in her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Among them are The Black Dog pub in London and Destin, Florida, which have both seized on their name-drops for self-promotion. Jennifer Adams, Destin-Fort Walton Beach’s tourist director, told Thrillist last week: “We’ve not only seen more searches on Google, but we’ve had a lot of inquiries into the welcome center.”
It’s the latest example of “Taylor Swift Effect,” where everything the pop star touches has the potential to turn to gold. Earlier this year, Business Insider reported that a small fashion brand in Scotland hit its monthly sales target in one day after Swift wore one of their dresses. When Swift began publicly dating NFL football player Travis Kelce last September, sales of jerseys carrying his name spiked by 400%.
Swifties love buying clothes that Swift wears, ordering her favorite food and drink, and going to places the singer has referenced in her songs, all in an effort to be closer to their idol.
Here are the five new Swiftie landmarks.
The Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, New York, also known as the “Chelsea Hotel,” is mentioned in the chorus of the album’s title song:
“You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots.”
Built in 1884, the Chelsea Hotel is a bohemian landmark thanks to the numerous famous actors, poets, and writers who have stayed there over the years, from Bob Dylan to Mark Twain.
Iconic Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who died in 1953, and renowned singer-songwriter Patti Smith are among the Chelsea Hotel’s famous guests.
In the self-deprecating lyrics, Swift and her lover are not two legendary artists but “modern idiots.”
Verse two of “So Long, London” is thought to reference Hampstead Heath:
“I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath.”
Swifties believe “So Long, London” is about her former boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, whom she dated for six years.
The last time Swift wrote a song about the UK city was in her 2019 track “London Boy” from the album “Lover,” which is thought to be about Alywn, too.
Hampstead Heath is an area of greenery in an upmarket area of North London with ties to both stars.
Alwyn, who grew up in North London, told the Evening Standard in 2019 that, after his death, he would like to be cremated and have his ashes “scattered on Hampstead Heath, for all the dog walkers.”
In 2023, Rosy Khalastchy, the head of a property agency in North London, told the Evening Standard that Swift was looking for a house in Hampstead Heath.
Track 8 references the tourist resort of Destin:
“So you work your life away just to pay / For a time-share down in Destin.”
In “Florida!!!,” Swift and Florence + the Machine‘s lead vocalist Florence Welch sing about escaping to Florida after a bad breakup.
Swift uses Destin in the pre-chorus as an example of a city where no one will ever recognize her, and she can reinvent herself.
Destin’s mayor, Bobby Wagner, was pleased by Swift’s mention of his city and shared a picture of a sand sculpture dedicated to the pop star on Instagram.
A post shared by Bobby Wagner (@bobbyfordestin)
Swift could have chosen anywhere to escape to, but she said in an Amazon Music Commentary clip that she was inspired by “Dateline” to choose Florida.
“I’m always watching ‘Dateline.’ People have these crimes that they commit. Where do they immediately skip town and go to? They go to Florida,” she said. “They try to reinvent themselves, have a new identity, blend in.”
Swifties have been flocking to The Black Dog pub in London, since it was referenced in the first verse of track 17:
“And so I watch as you walk / Into some bar called The Black Dog” and “I just don’t understand / How you don’t miss me in The Black Dog / When someone plays “The Starting Line.”
The term “the black dog” is often used as a metaphor for depression, but Swifties believe the bar in the first verse refers to a small neighborhood pub in South London with the same name, and is about her British exes, Matty Healy or Alwyn.
The Black Dog’s events and social media manager, Lily Bottomley, told Business Insider on Monday of the interest from Swifties: “It’s been a real whirlwind. There’s definitely been a massive impact on sales. The Taylor Swift effect can’t be underestimated.”
She added that the weekend after the album release was their busiest ever, and they hired more staff to handle the new customers.
On track 29, “The Bolter,” Swift sings:
“When it’s all roses, portrait poses / Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats / What a charming Saturday.”
Swift has visited Central Park numerous times and even performed there twice, in 2010 and 2019.
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