Fraunces Tavern Block | |
 North and west fronts of Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street at Broad Street | |
 | |
| Location | Bounded byPearl Street,Coenties Slip, Water Street andBroad Street, New York, NY |
|---|---|
| Built | Various |
| Architect | Various |
| Architectural style | Various |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000957[1][2] |
| NYCHD No. | 0994 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 28, 1977 |
| Designated NYCHD | November 14, 1978[3] |
Fraunces Tavern | |
 West front of Fraunces Tavern on Broad Street | |
| Location | 54Pearl Street, New York, NY |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°42′12″N74°00′41″W / 40.7033°N 74.0113°W /40.7033; -74.0113 |
| Built | 1719 |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000140[4][5] |
| NYCL No. | 0030 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 6, 2008 |
| Designated NYCL | November 23, 1965 |
Fraunces Tavern is amuseum and restaurant inNew York City, situated at 54Pearl Street at the corner ofBroad Street in theFinancial District ofLower Manhattan. The location played a prominent role in history before, during, and after theAmerican Revolution. At various points in its history, Fraunces Tavern served as a headquarters forGeorge Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British, and housing federal offices in the Early Republic.
Fraunces Tavern has been owned since 1904 bySons of the Revolution in the State of New York Inc., which carried out a major conjectural reconstruction, and claim it isManhattan's oldest surviving building. The museum interprets the building and its history, along with varied exhibitions of art and artifacts.[6] Thetavern is a tourist site and a part of theAmerican Whiskey Trail and the New York Freedom Trail.[7][8] It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and is aNew York City designated landmark. In addition, the block on which Fraunces Tavern is located is aNational Historic Landmark District and a New York City designated landmark district.[9]
New YorkMayorStephanus van Cortlandt built his home in 1671 on the site, but retired to his manor on theHudson River and gave the property in 1700 to his son-in-law,Étienne "Stephen" DeLancey, a FrenchHuguenot who had married Van Cortlandt's daughter, Anne. The DeLancey family contended with the Livingston family for leadership of theProvince of New York.
DeLancey built the current building as a house in 1719. The small yellow bricks used in its construction were imported from theDutch Republic and the sizable mansion ranked highly in the province for its quality.[10] His heirs sold the building in 1762 toSamuel Fraunces who converted the home into the popular tavern, first named the Queen's Head, and periodically known as Boltons Tavern or The Coffee House.[11]
Before theAmerican Revolution, the building was one of the meeting places of the secret society, theSons of Liberty. During thetea crisis caused by theBritish Parliament's passage of theTea Act 1773, thePatriots forced a British navalcaptain who tried to bring tea to New York to give a public apology at the building.[12] The Patriots, disguised asAmerican Indians (like those of theBoston Tea Party), then dumped the ship's tea cargo intoNew York Harbor.
In 1768, theNew York Chamber of Commerce was founded by a meeting in the building.[13] On June 13, 1771,King George III of Great Britain granted a royal charter to establish "The Society of the New York Hospital in the City of New York in America" and a Board of Governors for the "reception of such patients as require medical treatment, chirurgical management and maniacs."[14] The first regular meeting of the Board of Governors of what is now known asNewYork-Presbyterian Hospital was held at Fraunces Tavern on July 24, 1771.[11]
In August 1775, Americans, principally the 'Hearts of Oak' – a student militia ofKing's College, of whichAlexander Hamilton was a member – took possession of cannons from theartillery battery at thesouthern point of Manhattan and fired onHMSAsia. The BritishRoyal Navy ship retaliated by firing a 32-gunbroadside on the city, sending acannonball through the roof of the building.
In September 1780,Jane Tuers, a local farmer from across theHudson River inBergen Township, New Jersey (nowJersey City), stopped into the tavern while selling her goods and spoke with Samuel Fraunces. He informed Tuers that British soldiers had been in the tavern toasting GeneralBenedict Arnold, who was to deliverWest Point to the British. Tuers returned to Bergen later that day and informed her brother Daniel Van Reypen about the conspiracy. Van Reypen rode toHackensack, New Jersey to meet with GeneralAnthony Wayne who then sent Van Reypen to inform General Washington of the conspiracy. The information provided by Tuers confirmed what Washington had suspected of Arnold and led to the arrest, trial, conviction and hanging of co-conspiratorJohn André fortreason and stopped the plot to surrender West Point. Arnold would later defect to the British to escape prosecution.[15]
When the war was all but won, the building was the site of "British-AmericanBoard of Inquiry" meetings, which negotiated to ensure to American leaders that no "American property" (meaning formerslaves who wereemancipated by the British for theirmilitary service) be allowed to leave with British troops. Led by Brigadier GeneralSamuel Birch, board members reviewed the evidence andtestimonies that were given byfreed slaves every Wednesday from April to November 1783, and British representatives were successful in ensuring that almost all of theloyalist black people of New York maintained their liberty and could be evacuated with the "Redcoats" when they left if so desired.[16] Through this process, Birch created theBook of Negroes.
 Engraving after painting byAlonzo Chappel | |
 | |
| Date | December 4, 1783 (1783-12-04) |
|---|---|
| Location | Fraunces Tavern, Broad and Pearl Streets, New York Town |
British troopsevacuated New York on November 25, 1783. The tavern hosted an elaborate "turtle feast" dinner on December 4, 1783 in the building's Long Room for GeneralGeorge Washington, during which he bade farewell to his officers of theContinental Army. "With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." He then took each of his officers by the hand for a personal word.[17][18][19]
In January 1785, New York City became the seat of theConfederation Congress, the nation's central government under the"Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." The departments ofForeign Affairs,Finance andWar had their offices at Fraunces Tavern.
With the ratification of theUnited States Constitution in March 1789, the Confederation Congress's departments became federal departments, and New York City became the first officialnational capital. Theinauguration of George Washington as firstPresident of the United States took place in April 1789. Under the July 1789Residence Act, Congress moved the national capital toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania for a 10-year period, while the permanent national capital was under construction in what is nowWashington, D.C. The federal departments vacated their offices in the building and moved to Philadelphia in 1790.
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The building operated throughout much of the 19th century, but suffered several serious fires beginning in 1832. Having been rebuilt several times, the structure's appearance was changed to the extent that the original building design is not known. The building was owned by Malvina Keteltas in the early 1800s. Ernst Buermeyer and his family leased part of the property in 1845 and ran a hotel called the Broad Street House at this location until 1860.[20] After a disastrous fire in 1852, two stories were added, making the Tavern a total of five stories high. In 1890, the taproom was lowered to street level and the first floor exterior was remodeled, and its originaltimbers sold assouvenirs. The Manhattan local society of theNational Society of the Children of the American Revolution is located at Fraunces Tavern. As of 2020, the Senior Society President is Ms. Elsye Richardson.
In 1900, the tavern was slated fordemolition by its owners, who reportedly wanted to use the land for aparking lot. A number of organizations, most notably theDaughters of the American Revolution, worked to preserve it, and convinced New York state government leaders to use their power ofeminent domain and designate the building as apark (which was the only clause of the municipal ordinances that could be used for protection, as laws were not in place at the time for the subject of "historic preservation", then in its infancy). The temporary designation was later rescinded when the property was acquired in 1904 by theSons of the Revolution In the State of New York Inc., primarily with funds willed by Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the grandson ofBenjamin Tallmadge, George Washington's chief of intelligence during theRevolution (a plaque depicting Tallmadge is affixed to the building). An extensive reconstruction was completed in 1907 under the supervision of earlyhistoric preservationarchitect,William Mersereau.[21] A guide book of the era called the tavern "the most famous building in New York".[22]
Historian Randall Gabrielan wrote in 2000 that "Mersereau claimed his remodeling of Fraunces Tavern was faithful to the original, but the design was controversial in his time. There was no argument over removing the upper stories, which were known to have been added during the building's 19th-century commercial use, but adding thehipped roof was questioned. He used thePhilipse Manor House inYonkers, New York as a style guide and claimed to follow the roof line of the original, as found during construction, traced on the bricks of an adjoining building."[23] Architects Norval White and Elliot Willensky wrote in 2000 that the building was "a highly conjectural reconstruction – not a restoration – based on 'typical' buildings of 'the period,' parts of remaining walls, and a lot of guesswork."[24] Daniela Salazar at the websiteUntapped New York agrees, stating that the "reconstruction was extremely speculative, and resulted in an almost entirely new construction".[25]
The building was declared a landmark in 1965 by theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the surrounding city block bounded by Pearl Street, Water Street, Broad Street andCoenties Slip was included on November 14, 1978.[3] TheNational Park Service added the surrounding city block to theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 28, 1977,[1] and the building was added to the NRHP on March 6, 2008.[26]
| Fraunces Tavern bombing | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Fraunces Tavern bombing | |
| Location | 40°42′12.2″N 74°0′40.75″W  Manhattan,New York, U.S. |
| Date | January 24, 1975 |
Attack type | bombing |
| Weapons | bomb |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 50+ |
| Perpetrators | FALN |
Abomb planted in the tavern exploded on January 24, 1975, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others. ThePuerto Rican clandestine paramilitary organizationFuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation, or FALN), which had executed otherbomb incidents in New York in the 1970s, claimed responsibility. No one had been prosecuted for the bombing as of 2022.[27]
In a note police found in a phone booth nearby, the FALN wrote, "we … take full responsibility for the especially detornated (sic) bomb that exploded today at Fraunces Tavern, with reactionary corporate executives inside." The note claimed the bomb – roughly 10 pounds of dynamite that had been crammed into an attaché case and slipped into the tavern's entrance hallway – was retaliation for the "CIA ordered bomb" that killed three and injured 11 in a restaurant inMayagüez, Puerto Rico, two weeks earlier.[28]
| Established | December 4, 1907 (1907-12-04) |
|---|---|
| Location | 54Pearl Street, New York, NY |
| Visitors | 25,000 |
| Owner | Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc. |
| Public transit access | Bus:M15 Subway:   atWall Street,    atSouth Ferry/Whitehall Street |
| Website | frauncestavernmuseum |
Since 1907, the Fraunces Tavern Museum on the second and third floors has helped to interpret the Fraunces Tavern and the collection of artifacts that it holds. The museum comprises nine galleries:John Ward Dunsmore collection of painted scenes of the American revolution; the Elizabeth and Stanley DeForest Scott gallery of portraits of George Washington; the Long Room, the site of General George Washington's famous farewell dinner; the Clinton Room, a recreation of a federalist style dining room; the McEntee Gallery, depicting the history of the Sons of the Revolution; the Davis Education Center (Flag Gallery); and a number of other galleries and spaces used for periodic exhibitions. In 2014, for example, the museum exhibited 27 maps from the 1700 and 1800s, including a never before seen map from 1804 depicting the United States' postal routes.[29]
The building served as the location of theGeneral Society, Sons of the Revolution (a heritage organization similar to and competing with the "Sons of the American Revolution") office until 2002, when the General Society moved toIndependence, Missouri. The Fraunces Tavern Museum maintains several galleries of art and artifacts about the Revolution including the McEntee "Sons of the Revolution" Gallery that displays much of the history of the Society.[30]
![Sam Fraunces, c. 1900 engraving, based on an undated ink sketch attributed to John Trumbull. The ink sketch is privately owned.[31]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSam_Fraunces.jpg)
Media related toFraunces Tavern at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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