href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@44240@[email protected]#Page_339" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">339

Simmons’ Tavern 342 Fac-Simile Receipt of Sam Fraunces, as Washington’s Steward 343 The Bowery Theatre 348 Tontine Coffee House 356 Old Sleigh 365 The City Hotel 373 Martling’s Tavern 376 Belvedere Club House 382 Fac-Simile Bill of the City Hotel, 1807 384 Anthelme Brillât-Savarin 387 White Conduit House 398 Robert R. Livingston 404 Washington Hall 409 Tammany Hall 411 Fraunces’ Tavern About 1830 412 The Great Naval Dinner at the City Hotel, December 29, 1812 416 Commodore Stephen Decatur 418 Commodore Isaac Hull 420 Captain James Lawrence 421 The Shakespeare Tavern 429 “As Choice Spirits as Ever Supped at the Turk’s Head” 431 De Witt Clinton 438 Contoit’s Garden 454 Niblo’s Garden 457 Reynolds’ Beer House 459 Cato’s House 461 The Old Hazzard House 462 Burnham’s Mansion House 464 Fitz-Greene Halleck 470 J. Fenimore Cooper 472 Bunker’s Mansion House 477

 

 

---

PREFACE

Much has been written about the old taverns of New York in a disconnected way, but heretofore there has been no connected story linking them with the current events of the early history of the city. This story I have attempted to tell from the Dutch settlement down to the early part of the last century, when the growth of the city and extensive travel entirely changed their character. In doing this I have found myself at issue with many writers on the subject. In every such case the conclusions set down in this book rest I believe upon unquestionable documentary evidence, in part referred to in the text.

Before any newspapers appeared the tavern was a very important institution in the community. It was the medium of all news both political and social, the one place where people of all kinds met to exchange views on every subject of interest to the general public.