The claim
A brick Georgian landmark at Pearl and Broad Streets where Samuel Fraunces opened the Queen's Head in 1762. George Washington bade farewell to his officers in the Long Room upstairs in 1783. Rebuilt in the early 1900s, it now combines a museum with several bars, including a whiskey bar, and busy dining rooms.
What the records show
Samuel Fraunces opened the Queen's Head here in 1762 and Washington's farewell to his officers in 1783 is well documented. But the building later had many non-tavern uses and was largely reconstructed in 1907; a 2021 study found more original brick than assumed. 'Continuous since 1762' is not accurate. Two registers were read on 17 September 2026 in place of the encyclopedia the page had been leaning on. New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission building database gives 54 Pearl Street as built in 1719, original use a single-family free-standing house, and states plainly that it was built as a house and converted into a tavern in 1762 by Samuel Fraunces, with the whole first storey removed in July 1890 to lower the floor to street level. The National Park Service's register locations service returns both National Register entries: the Fraunces Tavern Block district, certified 28 April 1977 under 77000957, and the tavern itself, certified 6 March 2008 under 08000140. So the house is 1719, the trade is 1762, and both now rest on the registers rather than on a summary of them.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1762 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1719 | Present building | Building fabric |
| 1762 | First record of a drinking house here | National Register of Historic Places |
What to look for inside
- Washington's farewell to his officers, 4 December 1783
- Housed early US departments of Foreign Affairs and War
- Museum of the Sons of the Revolution upstairs
Visiting
Fraunces Tavern is in New York City, United States, at 54 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10004. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunces_Tavern
- www.frauncestavern.com/
- data.ny.gov/resource/9s3h-dpkz.json
- data.cityofnewyork.us/resource/gpmc-yuvp.json?%24where=upper%28des_addres%29%20like%20%2754%20PEARL%25%27
- mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/cultural_resources/nrhp_locations/MapServer/0/query?where=RESNAME+LIKE+%27%25Fraunces%25%27&outFields=NRIS_Refnum%2CRESNAME%2CResType%2CAddress%2CCity%2CState%2CCertDate&returnGeometry=false&f=html
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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