Fraunces Tavern Block Historic District

Samuel Fraunces named his Queen’s Head tavern in 1762 after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, but his politics were patriotic, and the tavern hosted meetings of the radical Sons of Liberty and later the New York Provincial Congress. Washington’s farewell to his officers at the end of the Revolutionary War, on December 4, 1783, in the Long Room of the renamed Fraunces Tavern, made the building one of New York’s great patriotic shrines. Famous for his cooking, especially desserts, Fraunces advertised “Cakes, Tarts, Jellies, Whip Syllabubs, Blaumage Sweet-Meats, &c. in any quantity; cold Meat in small Quantities, Beef Stakes, &c at any Hour; Pickled Oysters for the West Indies or elsewhere.” After the war, which ruined him financially, Fraunces entered Washington’s service as steward and chef, and Congress rented his tavern to house the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Treasury and War. Threatened with replacement by a skyscraper in 1902, the much altered tavern was rescued by the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York under the direction of architect William Mersereau. Today’s Long Room, remodeled in the 1960s after period prints and paintings, recreates a typical 18th century tavern room of the kind in which Washington made his famous farewell.

New York, New York · United States