A Toast to The Oldest Building in New York City
By Lucas Compan
Fraunces Tavern is the oldest bar in New York. Fraunces Tavern is one of America’s most important historical sites of the Revolutionary War and a reminder of the great importance of taverns on the New York way of life during the Colonial era. This revered building at the corner of Pearl and Broad street was the location of George Washington‘s farewell address to his Continental Army officers and one of the first government buildings of the young United States of America. John Jay and Alexander Hamilton both used Fraunces as an office.
George Washington, the first President of the United States of America (April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797), was in New York to be sworn in as President and spent 17 months in the city before the capital was moved to Philadelphia. It was here that the Revolutionary War officially ended in 1783, with a triumphal march by the Continental army down Broadway, stopping from tavern to tavern to drink 13 toasts at each one in celebration of the new country.
Visit Fraunces Tavern Museum
One of the oldest, diverse and historic rooms in New York City, the Long Room played host to Colonial Era dance classes, George Washington’s farewell speech (pictured below), decades of guests as a boardinghouse, and now a replica of tavern life in early America
Want to know what locals and travelers say about Fraunces Tavern? Click here to find out.
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