17th Century Bar Remains in Financial District

When you look around New York City these days, your eyes meet skyscrapers, subway entrances, and taxi cabs by the dozen. It’s hard to imagine what the city looked like 50 years ago, much less how it looked long before that. But if you take a walk to the financial district, you’ll be able to see a piece of 17th century Manhattan in the form of the Lovelace Tavern remains.

The Lovelace Tavern

The tavern itself dates back approximately 350 years. The building was owned by Colonel Francis Lovelace, governor of New York at the time, and operated from 1670 to 1706 when it burned down. In 1697, the colonial New York City Council decided the Stadt Huys was unfit for use, so the Lovelace Tavern became the new spot to carry out government business. It functioned as a second city hall for several years until an official city hall was built in 1700.

The Tavern’s Discovery

In the 1970s, as part of an agreement with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Dollar Savings Bank funded a full excavation of the building site on Broad and Pearl Streets. During the excavation, archaeologists discovered the foundation walls and burned floorboards of the Lovelace Tavern, along with several artifacts, including bowls, plates, smoking pipes, and broken bottles.

The Tavern’s Significance

The discovery of the tavern paved the road for future excavations in Lower Manhattan. In 1983, the Landmarks Preservation Committee received a proposal which specifically outlined and protected the Dutch street grid. The tavern’s discovery also displayed the only above-ground physical evidence of 17th-century Dutch presence in New York, since most of NYC’s downtown colonial architecture was destroyed in a fire on December 16, 1835.

If you’re in the Financial District, stop by Broad Street, and take a look at what’s left of the Lovelace Tavern. If you want to keep up with more history and fun places to visit in NYC, connect with AMAA on Facebook and Twitter!

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