Fraunces Tavern Block Historic District

The land on which this district was built was created by landfill in 1689, and was the first extension of the Manhattan shoreline for commercial purposes. The district's namesake is the oldest building on the block; the Fraunces Tavern was built in 1718, as a grand residence, presumably in the Queen Anne style. By 1762, the area had become commercial and Samuel Fraunces opened his tavern, famously known as the locale where George Washington spent his last ten days as a General and then bade farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War. The building fell victim to a series of fires throughout the nineteenth century, and in the twentieth century was restored in a conjectural manner. The existing structure contains little of its origins, and today's viewer essentially sees a Colonial Revival fabrication.

Eleven of the sixteen structures in the district were built between the years 1827 and 1833, shortly after the opening of the Erie Canal, and are listed in The Directory of 1851 as the locations of freight forwarders, shipping agents, and whole-sale merchants. They are predominantly in the Federal and Greek Revival styles, with the red-brick facades and regularly spaced windows characteristic of both styles. The Greek Revival commercial structures, such as 3 Coenties Slip (1836-37) and 66 Pearl Street (1831), have large open granite storefronts, with granite piers supporting a granite architrave. This striking city block of low-rise commercial dwellings offers a rare glimpse of nineteenth century New York, and makes a stark contrast with the soaring modern office towers surrounding it. ©2014