Franunces Tavern

54 Pearl St.

With its slate roof and cream-colored portico, this handsome brick house gives visitors a sense of New York City as it might have appeared during the American Revolution. In 1719 Etienne de Lancey, who later gave his family name to Delancey Street , built a home here. Samuel Fraunces bought it in 1762 and turned it into a tavern. For 10 days in 1783 Fraunces Tavern served as George Washington's last residence as general, and on December 4 of that year, he bade farewell to his troops here before returning to his estate at Mount Vernon.

Visit
The authenticity of the building you see today is open to debate. In 1904 the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York bought the structure, which by then had been significantly altered, and tried to restore it to what they believed the original might have looked like. It was opened to the public in 1907. Parts of the original walls were incorporated, but history and architecture buffs don't think that's enough to justify the museum's claim that Fraunces Tavern is the real McCoy. Today the ground floor is used as a bar/restaurant, and the upper floors (the museum) display early American decorative arts in period rooms.

Museum open year-round Tue-Fri noon-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Closed major holidays.

cost: $4.

212-425-1778.
www.frauncestavernmuseum.org