The brick building at 54 Pearl Street was built by Etienne “Stephen” DeLancey, the son-in-law of New York Mayor Stephanus van Cortlandt in 1719. In 1762, van Cortlandt’s heirs sold the building to Samuel Fraunces, a restaurateur who is thought by many to have been an American spy during the Revolutionary War. Fraunces converted the building into a tavern originally named Queen’s Head for Queens Street, which is now known as Pearl Street.
Before the American Revolution in 1775, the tavern was used as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, a secret society formed to fight British taxation imposed on the colonies and to protect the rights of colonists. They were also responsible for the Boston Tea Party in 1773, one of the most infamous acts of rebellion in American history. During the War, General George Washington used the tavern as a headquarters.
After the war was won, 54 Pearl Street became the first offices for the Departments of Foreign Affairs, War and Treasury from 1785-1788. The government then promised to move its offices south, and the building once again served as a tavern.
In 1825, the Eerie Canal was opened, which gave way to easy travel into the city and resulted in a population influx. Housing was in high demand, and Fraunces Tavern began operating as a boarding house with a bar until the 1840s, when large and elegant hotels began to replace these humbler forms of accommodation. In order to function as a proper boarding house, two additional stories were added to the original structure, which were then divided into thirteen bedrooms.
Due to the building’s place in American history, the tavern remained an important gathering place for Patriots into the 19th century. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr attended a dinner hosted in the tavern a week before their famous duel that killed Hamilton, and also served as the site of Washington’s farewell to his troops in 1883.
Fraunces Tavern was threatened with demolition in 1900, but was saved by the Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization made of descendants of those involved in the United States’ independence. In 1904, the Sons of the Revolution, the Daughters’ male counterpart, purchased the property with the funds willed by a descendant of Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington’s chief of intelligence during the Revolution.
The Sons of the Revolution restored the building to its 18th century appearance, removing the extra floors added and all of the modifications made over the decades. The restoration was completed in 1907 and the Fraunces Tavern and Museum was opened on the 124th anniversary of Washington’s farewell to his officers at the Tavern.
The Museum and Restaurant now occupy five buildings on Fraunces Tavern Block.
| 1719 | The mansion is built |
| 1762 | Samuel Fraunces purchases the building and converts it into Queen's Head Tavern |
| 1773 | Boston Tea Party |
| 1775 | American Revolution |
| 1785 | Tavern is converted into the Departments of Foreign Affairs, War and Treasury |
| 1825 | Eerie Canal is opened |
| 1883 | George Washington says farewell to his troops |
| 1900 | Daughters of the Revolution save the tavern from demolition |
| 1904 | Sons of the Revolution purchase the tavern and restore it |
| 1907 | Restored building is completed |
| 1965 | Fraunces Tavern becomes a landmark |
| tidbit | George Washington |
| link | Fraunces Tavern and Museum |
| link | Samuel Fraunces |
| wiki | Fraunces Tavern |
| wiki | Sons of Liberty |