City Tavern

When John Adams arrived in Philadelphia in August of 1774, to attend the First Continental Congress, he was greeted by leading citizens and immediately taken to the tavern he would call “the most genteel tavern in America.” The tavern Adams referred to, City Tavern, was not yet a year old and was already caught in momentous events. A few months earlier, Paul Revere had ridden up to the Tavern with the news of the closing of the port of Boston by the British Government.

Many other important events took place at the building in the first few decades of the new nation including the first 4 July celebration in 1777, marking the anniversary of America's Independence from Britain. The City Tavern was built in 1773 and was partially destroyed by fire in 1834. It was rebuilt in the 1970s and currently operated as a functioning tavern and restaurant. It is the oldest known tavern in the United States.