The Long Room at Fraunces Tavern Museum

First built in 1719 by Stephen De Lancey as a family home, the building that houses Fraunces Tavern Museum today has lived many lives. From 1719 until the mid-1730s, the 741-square-foot room on the second floor served as a drawing room in the De Lancey’s mansion (though it is unclear if the De Lanceys ever lived in the building). When the De Lanceys leased the building out for commercial activity the space became known as the Long Room, and it quickly grew into one of the most important community hubs in Lower Manhattan.

Explore the archive below to learn more about the history of the Long Room at Fraunces Tavern Museum and its days as part of a tavern, government offices, boarding house, and eventually, a museum.

Henry Holt was a former dancer and actor in England before he arrived in the colonies. He first appeared in Charleston, South Carolina, where he formed one of the earliest theater companies. In 1737, Holt arrived in New York City and rented space in 54 Pearl Street. He used the space as a dance hall, offering classes on the latest dance trends, like the Baroque dance technique, which was popular in England at the time. According to newspaper advertisements, Holt offered free dance classes on Monday and Thursday afternoons in the summertime. He also produced a variety of puppet shows. One of the most famous productions by the Holt Company, Harlequin and Scaramouche; or the Spaniard Trick’d, was performed in the Long Room. The show’s last performance on February 21, 1739, was advertised in the New York Gazette.

What is a Long Room?

A Long Room is, as its name suggests, a room of considerable length inside of a tavern. Primarily used for dancing, these rooms were narrow and sparsely furnished. Urban taverns typically rented out their Long Rooms for parties, public balls, and private events.

The second floor room at 54 Pearl Street likely received its Long Room designation when it was used by Holt to offer dance classes.

Samuel Fraunces bought 54 Pearl Street on January 15, 1762, and opened the Sign of the Queen Charlotte (also known as the Queen’s Head Tavern). The tavern became a popular meeting place because it was located near Lower Manhattan’s bustling Great Dock, and because of Fraunces’ culinary skills. He offered some of the best food in the City, including steak, mutton, pork chops, and of course, fresh oysters, which could be served fried or pickled. The Sign of the Queen Charlotte became so popular with the locals that they began simply referring to it as “Fraunces’ tavern.”

Fraunces gives the only known “accurate” description of what the building looked like in the 1760s and 70s in an advertisement he published in 1764. He describes the tavern as,

“three stories high, with a tile and lead roof, has fourteen fireplaces, a most excellent large kitchen, fine dry cellars, with good convenient office, sufficient for a large family, the business above mentioned, a merchant, or any other trader, is a comer house, very open and airy, and in the most compleat repair, near to the ferry.”

Samuel Fraunces’ Long Room

Fraunces rented out the tavern’s Long Room for meetings, private parties, and other events. It quickly became one of the most popular meeting places in New York City. In the broadside above, Fraunces also advertises the Long Room at another tavern he operated, Vauxhall Gardens. This second establishment included manicured gardens and a wax museum, and its Long Room likely saw more dancing than the Long Room at the Sign of the Queen Charlotte.

In the mid-1770s, taverns were important public spaces for colonists to gather and discuss, deliberate, and debate their grievances against Parliament. More often than not, the seeds of the revolution were planted in taverns alongside the ale they drank. Samuel Fraunces was a well-known patriot, opening his tavern to those sympathetic to the revolutionary cause. The first floor of the tavern was open to the public and the second floor was made up of smaller rooms, like the Long Room, which were reserved for private events. The New York Sons of Liberty used the tavern as one of their secret headquarters in the 1770s, likely meeting in the Long Room.

In May 1775, Fraunces opened his doors to the New York Provincial Congress, which was then founded in the Long Room. The Provincial Congress acted as a temporary government for the colony throughout the Revolution. They were initially formed as a convention to choose delegates to participate in the Second Continental Congress. Many other revolutionaries passed through the tavern, likely taking private meetings in the Long Room.

On December 4, 1783, nine days after the last British soldiers left American soil, General George Washington delivered his Farewell Address to his officers in the Long Room at Fraunces Tavern. Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge described the event in his memoir, which is the only first-hand account of this emotional scene. The memoir is on display in the McEntee gallery at Fraunces Tavern Museum. 

The memoir reads,

“After partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence, the General filled his glass with wine and, turning to the officers, said, ‘With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.’”

After embracing each officer and wishing them well, Washington left for Annapolis, where he resigned his military commission before traveling on to Mount Vernon.

Jacob Etzel ran the tavern and boarding house between 1881 and 1895, allowing renters to board by the week. This picture shows Etzel to the left of the lamp, standing with the people who were boarding at the time. His wife and child are in the Long Room, looking out of one of the second-floor windows. The Etzel family lived in the boarding house alongside its tenants, serving communal meals in the Long Room. Etzel advertised “the best selected Stock of Imported Wines, Liquors and Segars” on small business cards for the tavern below.

Sons of the Revolution was founded in the Long Room on the 100th anniversary of Washington’s Farewell to his officers. Sons of the Revolution is a genealogical society that traces their ancestors back to men who participated in the Revolutionary War. In 1904, the organization purchased 54 Pearl Street and, to restore the building, undertook one of the largest preservation projects in the early 20th century. In 1907, Fraunces Tavern opened as a museum and restaurant, with the mission of continuing the memory of the Revolutionary War.

Frederick S. Tallmadge, a member of Sons of the Revolution and the grandson of Benjamin Tallmadge, head of the Culper Spy Ring, spearheaded the purchase and preservation of 54 Pearl Street.

In October 1905, William H. Mersereau, a preservation architect, was contracted by Sons of the Revolution to begin the restoration of 54 Pearl Street. Mersereau’s detailed notes and letters offer a closer look into one of the nation’s first and largest restoration projects of its kind. Most of the surviving architectural elements dating back to 1719 were found within the walls of the Long Room: 

“The selfsame beams on which Washington stood are there beneath the floor of the “Long Room” today and the tier above is the same and old walls are the same. Further we cannot go. The Long Room as it existed lately, contained not a vestige of woodwork, sash, etc. that I had in Washington’s time. The fire of 1854 burned the room out. Evidences of this fire have been continually met with, and we have been able to prove all the woodwork, including doors and staircase, were put in since the state of the fire. The old hewn beams, however, exist still in the hallway, in the floor and the ceiling of the second and third stories on Pearl Street. Here and there on the underside of these old beams are vestiges of hand-split laths and hand-made nails, proving that the old ceilings were plastered and that the beams were not exposed.”

The restoration of the building was completed in 1907.

Throughout World War I, Sons of the Revolution sold Liberty Bonds in the Long Room to help raise money for the wartime effort. During World War I, many businesses sold these war bonds out of their businesses as a sign of patriotism.

In December 1982, Fraunces Tavern Museum opened Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers, a museum-wide exhibition that explored the role of taverns in early America. Led by guest curator Kym Rice, the exhibition included a reinterpretation of the Long Room. It included over 150 colonial artifacts, including broadsides, maps, and paintings. 

When the Long Room was first turned into a period room in 1971, it had the appearance of a colonial era tavern. When Rice reinterpreted the room she added furniture and artifacts dating back to the 18th century which were likely found in urban taverns. One of the most important pieces installed in 1982, which is still on display today, is the 13-foot-long table. The Early Queen Anne cherry communion dates back to the mid-18th century and likely originated in Connecticut. It was originally loaned to the Museum by the firm of Israel Sack, an antiques dealer specializing in early American furniture whose founder was instrumental in developing leading private collections and those of nearly every major museum in the United States starting in the early 20th century. (The table was eventually purchased by the Museum in 1998.) Several glass bottles from the excavation of the former Lovelace Tavern across the street, which was torn down in 1706, were also put on display.

2022 - Further Work and Object Movements

In 2022, the Museum expressed appreciation to Stanley DeForest Scott and Craig Hamilton Weaver for gifting, and assisting in the acquisition of, objects (including tables, chairs, plates, cups, and engravings) for the Long Room, most recently in 2022, allowing the Museum to return several long-term loans and better interpret the space as an 18th century tavern room. A liquor chest owned by Baron von Steuben, an object from the Museum’s permanent collection most recently featured in our past Valuable exhibition, was also installed in the room.

Today

The Long Room continues to function as a period room which educates the public on the history of urban taverns in the 18th century. In particular, it has been serving New York City’s students for decades. The period room provides a unique experience that can be difficult to come by in New York City—the chance to travel back in time to an 18th century tavern. A visit to the Long Room brings history to life for students, emphasizing the highlighting New York’s role during the American Revolutionary era. The Long Room can see up to 5,000 students per year and plays an important part in their education about not only their hometown history, but also the history of the nation.

Because it is a period room, the Long Room also requires routine care. Each year museum staff cleans and inspects all objects and fixtures in the exhibition to ensure the safety and conservation of the historic artifacts in the Museum’s collection. Cleaning processes range from dusting to physical repairs. This can be a long and detailed process and require staff to have conservation and object handling experience, as many objects are delicate and may need specialized care. These yearly condition reports, in addition to maintaining the room and historic artifacts, is an opportunity for museum staff to continue to learn more about the museum’s collection and its history.

Do you have an archival photo of the Long Room? Contact communications@frauncestavernmuseum.org or (347) 468-3186 to contribute to the Long Room Photo Archive.