Fraunces Tavern also marks one of two occasions where Puerto Rican separatist terrorists came close enough (for me) to blowing me up.
The first time was in my own apartment building. I got home just a very short time after they had blown up the bank at the corner of my Fourth Avenue building...glass and metal fragments everywhere. They said it was a mistake, a blackmail attempt gone wrong.
The Fraunces Tavern blast was no mistake, and they meant to terrorize and hurt people.
This was all part of a campaign of bombings during which mercifully very few people were hurt and which eventually fizzled out because the terrorists had just about zero support from the Puerto Rican Community in NYC, which was appalled by the bombings.
As I remember, the decor was full of historical artifacts ( they must have had to fix them up after the bomb blast)..
Let me see what I can find about the place's history on the net...
Fraunces Tavern
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fraunces Tavern
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South front of Fraunces Tavern on Broad Street
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| Location: | 54 Pearl Street, New York, New York, USA |
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| Coordinates: | 40°42′12″N 74°0′41″WCoordinates: 40°42′12″N 74°0′41″W |
| Built: | 1719 |
| Architectural style: | Georgian |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 08000140[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | March 6, 2008 |
| Designated NYCL: | November 23, 1965 |
Fraunces Tavern Block
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North and west fronts of Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street at Broad Street
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| Location: | Bounded by Pearl Street, Coenties Slip, Water Street and Broad Street, New York, New York, USA |
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| Built: | Various |
| Architect: | Various |
| Architectural style: | Various |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 06000713[2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | April 28, 1977 |
| Designated NYCHD: | November 14, 1978[3] |
Pre-Revolution history
New York Mayor Stephanus van Cortlandt built his home in 1671 on the site, but retired to his manor on the Hudson River and gave the property in 1700 to his son-in-law, Etienne "Stephen" DeLancey, a French Huguenot who had married Van Cortlandt's daughter, Anne. The DeLancey family contended with the Livingston family for leadership of the Province of New York.DeLancey built the current building as a house in 1719. The small yellow bricks used in its construction were imported from the Dutch Republic and the sizable mansion ranked highly in the province for its quality.[7] His heirs sold the building in 1762 to Samuel Fraunces who converted the home into the popular tavern, first named the Queen's Head.
Before the Revolution, the building was one of the meeting places of the Sons of Liberty. During the tea crisis of 1765, the patriots forced a British naval captain who tried to bring tea to New York to give a public apology at the building.[citation needed] The patriots, disguised as American Indians (like those of the subsequent Boston Tea Party), then dumped the ship's tea cargo into New York Harbor.
In 1768, the New York Chamber of Commerce was founded by a meeting in the building.[8]
Revolution history
In August 1775, Americans took possession of cannons from the artillery battery at the southern point of Manhattan and fired on the HMS Asia. The British ship retaliated by firing a 32-gun broadside on the city, sending a cannonball through the roof of the building.When the war was all but won, the building was the site of "British-American Board of Inquiry" meetings, which negotiated to ensure to American leaders that no "American property" (meaning former slaves who were emancipated by the British for their military service) be allowed to leave with British troops. Board members reviewed the evidence and testimonies that were given by freed slaves every Wednesday from April to November 1783, and British representatives were successful in ensuring that almost all of the loyalist blacks of New York maintained their liberty.[9]
Washington's farewell to his officers
| Washington's Farewell to His Officers | |
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Engraving after painting by Alonzo Chappel
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| Location | New York |
| Date | December 4, 1783 |
Confederation Congress
The building housed some offices of the Confederation Congress as the nation struggled under the Articles of Confederation. With the establishment of the U.S. Constitution and the inauguration of Washington as president in 1789, the departments of Foreign Affairs, Treasury and War located offices at the building. The offices were vacated when the location of the U.S. capital moved on December 6, 1790, from New York to Philadelphia.Damage, reconstruction and landmarks
Fires
The building operated throughout much of the 19th century, but suffered several serious fires beginning in 1832. Having been rebuilt several times, the structure's appearance was changed to the extent that the original building design is not known. The building was owned by Malvina Keteltas in the early 1800s. Ernst Buermeyer and his family leased part of the property in 1845 and ran a hotel called the Broad Street House at this location until 1860.[13] After a disastrous fire in 1852, two stories were added, making the Tavern a total of five stories high. In 1890, the taproom was lowered to street level and the first floor exterior was remodeled, and its original timbers sold as souvenirs.The building was threatened in 1900 with demolition by its owners, who wanted to use the land for a parking lot. A number of organizations, notably the Daughters of the American Revolution, worked to preserve it, and convinced New York government leaders to use their power of eminent domain and designate the building as a park. The designation was rescinded when the property was acquired in 1904 by the Sons of the Revolution In the State of New York Inc., primarily with funds willed by Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the grandson of Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington's chief of intelligence during the Revolution (a plaque depicting Tallmadge is affixed to the building). An extensive reconstruction was completed in 1907 under the supervision of preservation architect William Mersereau.[14]
The building served as the location of the General Society Sons of the Revolution office until 2002, when the general society moved to its current location at Independence, Mo. The museum maintains several galleries of art and artifacts about the Revolution including the McEntee "Sons of the Revolution" Gallery that displays much of the history of the society.[15]
Historian Randall Gabrielan wrote in 2000 that "Mersereau claimed his remodeling of Fraunces Tavern was faithful to the original, but the design was controversial in his time. There was no argument over removing the upper stories, which were known to have been added during the building's 19th-century commercial use, but adding the hipped roof was questioned. He used the Philipse Manor House in Yonkers, N.Y. as a style guide and claimed to follow the roof line of the original, as found during construction, traced on the bricks of an adjoining building."[16]
Architects Norval White and Elliot Willensky wrote in 2000 that the building was "a highly conjectural reconstruction – not a restoration – based on 'typical' buildings of 'the period,' parts of remaining walls, and a lot of guesswork."[17]
Bombing
A bomb was exploded in the building on January 24, 1975, killing four (4) people and injuring more than 50 others. The Puerto Rico nationalist group FALN, the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation, which had other bomb incidents in New York in the 70's, claimed responsibility. No one was ever prosecuted for the bombing.[18] No one was ever prosecuted for the bombing as of April 2013.[19]Among the victims who died was a young banker, Frank Connor (Fair Lawn, NJ,) 33, who had worked his way up over 15 years from clerk to assistant vice president (AVP) at Morgan Guaranty Trust. Mr. Connor left behind his wife Mary (Connor-Tully) and two sons, Thomas, 11, and Joseph, 9. A second New York worker was Harold H. Sherburne, 66, whose career on Wall Street spanned four decades. Two executives, James Gezork, 32, of Wilmington, Del., and Alejandro Berger, 28, who worked for a Philadelphia-based chemical company, had traveled to New York for business meetings.
Sherburne, Connor and Berger died on the spot. Gezork lost his fight for life later at the hospital.
In a note police found in a phone booth nearby, the FALN wrote, “we … take full responsibility for the especially detornated (sic) bomb that exploded today at Fraunces Tavern, with reactionary corporate executives inside.”
The note explained that the bomb — roughly 10 pounds of dynamite that had been crammed into an attaché case and slipped into the tavern’s entrance hallway — was retaliation for the “CIA ordered bomb” that killed three and injured 11, one a child (6 yrs old,) in a restaurant in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico two (2) weeks earlier.
A memorial plaque with some victims' names is hung in the newly restored/renovated Tavern's (December 2012) large dining room.
Landmarks
The building was declared a landmark in 1965 by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the building's block bounded by Pearl Street, Water Street, Broad Street and Coenties Slip was included on November 14, 1978.[3] The building's block was included on April 28, 1977[2] on the National Register of Historic Places by National Park Service, and the building was included on March 6, 2008.[1]Gallery
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Portrait of Samuel Fraunces, unknown artist, circa 1770–1785, Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York City. -
Fraunces Tavern sign -
National Register of Historic Places marker at Fraunces Tavern -
George Clinton Room at the Fraunces Tavern museum -
Dining room at Fraunces Tavern -
Plaques at Fraunces Tavern. The large plaque depicts Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, whose funds made possible the purchase of the building by the Sons of the Revolution.
Last but not least, let me see if Yelp reviews the Tavern...which is really more for history and fun than for the food after all
So this will just be about the Museum and not a food review..
Fraunces Tavern Museum
11 reviews
Rating Details
54 Pearl St Fl 2
New York, NY 10004
Neighborhood: Financial District
(212) 425-1778
New York, NY 10004
Neighborhood: Financial District
(212) 425-1778
- Nearest Transit Station:
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Whitehall St (N, R)South Ferry (1)Bowling Green (4, 5)
- Hours:
- Mon-Sun 12 pm - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
11 reviews for Fraunces Tavern Museum
11 reviews in English
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Review from Lucia P.
- Elite '13
- 28 friends
Came here a few months ago an hour and a half before closing time, so it wasn't crazy busy (although I imagine this place never gets packed). What a beautiful piece of history! Now this is the kind of museum I like. The staff were all very helpful and informative in answering our questions. We took our time to browse the many artifacts and pieces of history. There's even a locket of George Washington's hair! (plus a piece of his tooth, and a piece of his coffin)
The restaurant inside of here is being renovated. Not sure when it'll open back up.
P.S. Nice clean spacious bathrooms. -
Review from Brian S.
- 74 friends
This is a nice Museum in downtown. The place gives you a sense of how old town NYC used to be, and before going here I have no idea that NYC back in the 1700's only stretched out to about Wall St. Everything north of that was just forest.
This is a definite must see with a nice restaurant in the bottom floor. IF you want to learn more about the past of NYC, this is a place to visit that will give you an idea.
Great for US history buffs. -
Review from David A.
- 1 friend
Sadly, little is left of New York City's colonial-era history. The Fraunces Tavern Museum is among the best of what survives. Here, on this very spot, General George Washington held a farewell dinner with his officers of the Revolutionary War. That room, the "Long Room," is preserved intact.
First, the downside: housed entirely upstairs in a historically-preserved building, the museum is not ADA-compliant. If you cannot climb stairs, you ain't gonna see it. Also, the extensive exhibits are drily presented: artifacts in glass cases, with text cards to read. It's an old-school museum, the sort that makes kids dread the word "museum." Small children will quickly become bored and restive.
Now the upside: the museum actually spreads across the second floor of 5 adjacent buildings. It's far larger than you would guess from outside. The exhibits are detailed and extensive, documenting Washington's presence in NYC, at the Tavern, and his international fame; the Tavern's role in the early city; and (most interesting, I thought) the city's early history. If you are keen on history, you're gonna like this place. Only the spacious-but-colorful "Flag Gallery" disappointed me. It purports to show the evolution of the US flag. I can tell you it does not.
Perhaps the most historic aspect of the museum, though, is downstairs: the fact that near 300 years on, Fraunces Tavern is still open, as a restaurant.
I greatly recommend Fraunces Tavern Museum for those with a more-than-passing interest in colonial or early-Republic history. I do not much recommend it to general visitors and not at all to families with small children. At the time of writing, admission is $7, $4 for seniors or those under 18, and free for children under 5 (not recommended). -
Review from Mike C.
- Elite '13
- 601 friends
It's $7 to get in, $4 for seniors and children and free if you're military.
It's a very small museum, more like a house actually where stuff from the 17th-19th centuries paraphernalia can be found here. It's one of the oldest houses that survived the Revolutionary war that was built in 1719 and then sold to Samuel Fraunces in 1762 to become a tavern. The tavern downstairs is the oldest in New York city.
A lot of historical significance comes to play here as this tavern was the home to government houses during the Revolutionary War. Many paintings in this museum are actual 18th century works that depict life during the Revolutionary War.
Another cool thing about this museum is the fact that you can drink right downstairs in the bar where they have plenty o beers.
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