Gadsby's Tavern

Last updated

Gadsby's Tavern
2021 Gadsby's Tavern, 134 and 138 North Royal Street at Cameron, Alexandria.jpg
(2021)
Location map Alexandra Historic District, Virginia.png
Red pog.svg
Alexandria, Virginia.svg
Red pog.svg
USA Virginia Northern location map.svg
Red pog.svg
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location138 N. Royal St., Alexandria, Virginia
Coordinates 38°48′20″N77°2′37″W / 38.80556°N 77.04361°W / 38.80556; -77.04361
Built1752
NRHP reference No. 66000913
VLR No.100-0029
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLNovember 4, 1963 [2]
Designated VLRSeptember 9, 1969 [3]

Gadsby's Tavern is a complex of historic buildings at 134 and 138 North Royal Street at the corner of Cameron Street in the Old Town district of Alexandria, Virginia. The complex includes a c.1785 tavern, the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel, and an 1878 hotel addition. The taverns were a central part of the social, economic, political, and educational life of the city of Alexandria at the time. Currently, the complex is home to Gadsby's Tavern Restaurant, American Legion Post 24, and Gadsby's Tavern Museum, a cultural history museum. The museum houses exhibits of early American life in Virginia, and the restaurant operates in the original 1792 City Tavern dining room, serving a mixture of period and modern foods.

Contents

The complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Tavern history

Gadsby's Tavern consists of two buildings: one is the tavern, built around 1785, and the other is the 1792 City Hotel. John Gadsby leased and operated them from 1796 to 1808, and it is his name attached to the location.

Early history

Gadsby's Tavern was not the first tavern on its lot. Between 1749 and 1752, Charles and Anne Mason had begun a tavern business they called Mason's Ordinary. In the 1770s, Mary Hawkins opened a tavern on the lot around the corner from what is now the Gadsby's Tavern Museum. The original lot where Hawkin's tavern sat extended from the southwest corner of Royal and Cameron streets to about mid-block on both streets. [4] In 1778, the plot was subdivided, and Edward Owens purchased the lot on the corner of the two streets. [4] With the end of the Revolutionary War, and the booming economy that followed, Marylander John Wise purchased the plot in 1782 from Owens, and built the existing Georgian-style tavern ca. 1785, and the Federal City Tavern in 1792. [4] Englishman Gadsby leased the City Tavern, the most prominent tavern in Alexandria in 1796. He renewed the lease in 1802 to include the smaller 1785 tavern from Wise, and operated both until 1808 when he moved to Baltimore, Maryland. [4]

John Wise died in 1815, and with his death the buildings went through different hands, being run as a hotel, lawyers' offices, and auction houses. It remained a hotel during the American Civil War.

In 1816, a 23-year-old woman succumbed to a disease at the city tavern after she travelled to Alexandria with her husband. On her deathbed, she made the people surrounding her swear an oath that they would never reveal her identity. The promise was kept; her grave, a table-like structure in St. Paul's Cemetery is marked "Female Stranger". Her ghost is said to haunt the cemetery and Room 8 of Gadsby's Tavern, the room in which she died. [5] The unusual monument and story surrounding it have long been noted as a peculiar oddity of the town. [6]

19th and 20th century

In the decade of the 1890's Frederick Schwab (a veteran who had served in the Alexandria Artillery also known as Kemper's Battery) was proprietor of a saloon located in the original 1785 tavern portion of Gadsby's Tavern at 132 N. Royal Street (See 132 street number with “Sal.” for Saloon at the site of the 1785 tavern in the 1891, 1896, and 1902 Sanborn Maps of Alexandria, VA.). He lived there with his family until his death in 1901. By the turn of the 20th century, the building no longer operated as a hotel. Once considered one of the finest establishments of its kind in the country, the building had fallen into complete disrepair. The rooms that had been the setting for political dinners, grand balls, and elaborate public affairs were relegated to housing odd shops and rental apartments. [7] On May 21, 1917, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City purchased some of Alexandria's most important pieces of history, the ballroom woodwork. [7] In doing so, they inadvertently preserved the original historic ballroom when it was moved to New York.

The Met negotiated with the owners of the 1792 City Tavern & Hotel to purchase architectural elements from the hotel. The Met purchased the unique musicians gallery, cornice, door frames, and mantelpieces from the ballroom. Two mantelpieces from the City Hotel dining rooms and the exterior doorway were also sold. [7] On November 11, 1924, the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art — featuring the permanent installation of the recreated Gadsby's Tavern Ballroom with original woodwork (now named the "Alexandria Ballroom") — opened to the public [7]

Famous guests

George Washington frequently visited the taverns, and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent customers of the tavern included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson was feted in 1801 with a banquet in the ballroom of the City Tavern. The Marquis de Lafayette was also guest to festivities at the City Tavern during his tour of the United States in 1824.

Gadsby's Tavern and Museum sign Gadsbys.jpg
Gadsby's Tavern and Museum sign

The Tavern Museum restoration

Threatened with demolition in the early 20th century, the buildings were saved and preserved by efforts first undertaken by F. Clinton Knight and carried on by the American Legion, Post 24, along with other patriotic groups. [8] The buildings were reopened in 1976, after extensive renovation, by the City of Alexandria as a museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the social and cultural heritage of Alexandria by teaching the public about the site and its significant contributions. [9] Clint Knight, a former city councilman, postmaster, and commander of Post 24 mortgaged his home to help purchase the Tavern. The renovators reproduced on the second floor of the Tavern the woodwork of the ballroom that the Metropolitan Museum of Art had earlier acquired.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1963. [2] [10]

The Tavern Museum today

Today, the City of Alexandria continues their preservation and interpretation through Gadsby's Tavern Museum and by leasing the restaurant space, in the 1792 hotel building, to a private restaurateur. The original ballroom woodwork can still be seen at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The museum offers daily tours for individuals and families, and group tours by appointment. Admission is charged.

The museum is part of the American Whiskey Trail, which provides an educational journey into the history and cultural heritage of distilled spirits in American society.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraunces Tavern</span> Historic building in Manhattan, New York

Fraunces Tavern is a museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The location played a prominent role in history before, during, and after the American Revolution. At various points in its history, Fraunces Tavern served as a headquarters for George Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British, and housing federal offices in the Early Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratford Hall (plantation)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Stratford Hall is a historic house museum near Lerty in Westmoreland County, Virginia. It was the plantation house of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia. Stratford Hall is the boyhood home of two Founding Fathers of the United States and signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794), and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734–1797). Stratford Hall is also the birthplace of Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), who served as General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865). The Stratford Hall estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, under the care of the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Town Alexandria</span> Neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.

Old Town Alexandria is one of the original settlements of the city of Alexandria, Virginia, and is located just minutes from Washington, D.C. Old Town is situated in the eastern and southeastern area of Alexandria along the Potomac River. Old Town is laid out on a grid plan of substantially square blocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee–Fendall House</span> Historic house in Alexandria, Virginia, United States

The Lee–Fendall House is a historic house museum and garden located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia at 614 Oronoco Street. Since its construction in 1785, the house has served as home to thirty-seven members of the Lee family (1785–1903), hundreds of convalescing Union soldiers (1863–1865), the prominent Downham family (1903–1937), the family of powerful labor leader John L. Lewis (1937–1969), and enslaved or free servants of those families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin and Armfield Office</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Franklin and Armfield Office, which houses the Freedom House Museum, is a historic commercial building in Alexandria, Virginia. Built c. 1810–1820, it was first used as a private residence before being converted to the offices of the largest slave trading firm in the United States, started in 1828 by Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. "As many as [a] million people are thought to have passed through between 1828 and 1861, on their way to bondage in Mississippi and Louisiana". Another source, using ship manifests in the National Archives, gives the number as "at least 5,000".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandria Historic District</span> National Historic Landmark District in Alexandria, Virginia, United States

The Alexandria Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in Alexandria, Virginia. Encompassing all of the city's Old Town and some adjacent areas, this area contains one of the nation's best-preserved assemblages of the late-18th and early-19th century urban architecture. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop</span> Historic commercial building in Virginia, United States

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop/Museum is a historic apothecary's shop in Alexandria, Virginia, that has been preserved as a museum. During its working life, it was owned by generations of a Quaker family. Eventually, a dramatic decline in sales during the Great Depression forced the shop to close its doors. Almost immediately, in 1939, it was reopened as a museum. Today, most of the artifacts inside the shop are authentic and date to its closing. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of Alexandria (Alexandria, Virginia)</span> Historic commercial building in Virginia, United States

The Bank of Alexandria is a historic bank building located at Alexandria, Virginia, United States. It was built in 1807, and consists of a three-story main block, with a two-story east wing. The main block is five bays wide and 7 bays deep. In 1848, James Green purchased the building and turned it into a hotel, then in 1855, he expanded it across the lawn of the Carlyle House next door, tripling the size of the Mansion House Hotel. The hotel was used as a hospital during the Civil War. In the late 1960's, the expansion, by then an aging apartment building, was torn down by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to reveal Carlyle House, which was restored in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peyton Randolph House</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Peyton Randolph House, also known as the Randolph-Peachy House, is a historic house museum in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Its oldest portion dating to about 1715, it is one of the museum's oldest surviving buildings. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973 as the home of Founding Father Peyton Randolph (1721–1775), the first and third President of the Continental Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rising Sun Tavern (Fredericksburg, Virginia)</span> Historic commercial building in Virginia, United States

The Rising Sun Tavern is a historic building in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was built in about 1760 as a home by Charles Washington, youngest brother of George Washington, and became a tavern in 1792.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dearborn Inn</span> United States historic place

The Dearborn Inn, A Marriott Hotel is a historic hotel in the suburban city of Dearborn, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It opened in 1931 and closed in February 2023 for renovations. It was conceived by Henry Ford, who saw a need for food and accommodations for visitors flying into the nearby Ford Airport, making it one of the first airport hotels. It is located at 20301 Oakwood Boulevard near The Henry Ford and the world headquarters building of Ford Motor Company. Albert Kahn designed the Dearborn Inn in the Georgian architectural style. The Dearborn Inn is owned by Ford Motor Land Development Corporation and managed by Marriott International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Hotel (Lynchburg, Virginia)</span> United States historic place

The Western Hotel, or Joseph Nichols' Tavern, is a historic building located at Lynchburg, Virginia. It is the last of the city's many ante-bellum taverns and ordinaries, and is an important example of early Federal-style commercial architecture. It stands at what was for many years the western entrance to the city. It is known to have been operated as a tavern as early as 1815 by Joseph Nichols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyceum (Alexandria, Virginia)</span> United States historic place

The Lyceum is a historic museum and event space in Alexandria, Virginia. Built in 1839 on the initiative of Quaker schoolmaster Benjamin Hallowell, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 27, 1969, the year of its purchase by the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockingham Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Rockingham Hotel is a historic former hotel and contemporary condominium at 401 State Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. Built in 1885, it is a prominent early example of Colonial Revival architecture, built in part in homage to Woodbury Langdon, whose 1785 home occupied the site. Langdon's home and the hotel both played host to leading figures of their day, and the hotel was one of the finest in northern New England. The hotel, now converted to condominiums, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayne–Fowle House</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Bayne–Fowle House is a historic house located at 811 Prince Street in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986. The Bayne–Fowle House is a masonry townhouse built in 1854 for William Bayne, an Alexandria-based commission merchant. It is noted for its fine mid-Victorian interiors and elaborate plasterwork. During the American Civil War the house was occupied by Northern troops and subsequently confiscated by the Federal government and converted briefly into a military hospital. Since 1871 it has been a private residence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Potts-Fitzhugh House is a historic house at 607 Oronoco Street, Alexandria, Virginia. It served in the early 1800s as the home of Anne Hill Carter Lee and her family, including Robert E. Lee. It should not be confused with the Lee–Fendall House, which is located at 614 Oronoco Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Chimneys (Fredericksburg, Virginia)</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

The Chimneys is a historic house located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The house was constructed around 1771–1773. The house is named because of the stone chimneys at each end. The Georgian home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 1975. Of note are the interior decorative woodwork in the moldings, millwork, paneling indicative of building styles of the period. The decorative carving on the mantelpiece as well as on the door and window frames is particularly significant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gadsby (tavern keeper)</span>

John Gadsby was an English tavernkeeper in Alexandria, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

Alexandria, Virginia, an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is located along the western bank of the Potomac River. The city of approximately 151,000 is about six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Gadsby's Tavern". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  3. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 New Date for Tavern Building Construction
  5. Haunted History:Washington, D.C. documentary
  6. "The Legend of the Female Stranger". Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Gadsby's Ballroom in New York City". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  8. Clinton Knight and George Washington Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Gadsby's Tavern Museum Mission Statement
  10. Stephen Lissandrello (February 10, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Gadsby's Tavern (PDF), National Park Service and Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1969 and undated  (32 KB)