Fraunces Tavern

Fraunces Tavern, at 54 Pearl Street in Manhattan's Financial District, occupies a building constructed in 1719 that is one of the oldest surviving structures in New York City and one of the most consequential addresses in early American history. Samuel Fraunces purchased the building in 1762 and operated it as the Queen's Head Tavern, which became a gathering place for the Sons of Liberty and a significant site in the pre-Revolutionary political ferment of colonial New York. On December 4, 1783, with the British evacuation of New York City complete, General George Washington gathered his officers in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern and delivered his emotional farewell address — embracing each officer in turn and saying, through tears, that he could not leave them without taking God into their favor. The building is now operated partly as a working restaurant and pub and partly as a museum of early American history, with rooms on the upper floors containing original artifacts from the Revolutionary period. The ground-floor restaurant serves hearty American pub food — burgers, roasted chicken, fish and chips, and a selection of Irish-style pub preparations — alongside an extensive selection of American craft beers and whiskeys. The atmosphere is that of a genuinely historic building operating as a functional neighborhood bar, with Revolutionary War-era artifacts on the walls and regulars from the nearby financial community mixing with tourists who come for the history. The museum admission is separate from the restaurant; both warrant a visit.