Union Oyster House - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
Shorelander
N 42° 21.672 W 071° 03.432
19T E 330591 N 4691930
America's Oldest Restaurant, on the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts.
Waymark Code: WM43VZ
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 07/03/2008
Views: 33
The Union Oyster House was opened to diners in 1826 - and has been open ever since, making it America's oldest continually opening restaurant. Listed on the Register with ID #03000645, the date of the building's construction is unknown, as no records exist. The street was built in 1636, but the first record of the building is in 1742 as a goods business. A pre-revolutionary pro-independence newspaper, the "Massachusetts Spy", was published in the building in 1771. The wives of the US's first presidents and patriots, and presumably the presidents themselves, were familiar with the silk and dry goods store that occupied the building during the Revolution. And in 1826, Capen's Dry Goods Store made way for Atwood and Bacon's Oyster House, complete with oyster bar. Both Daniel Webster and JFK were frequent customers, and it was here that the toothpick was introduced to the United States.
Street address:
41 Union Street
Boston, MA USA
02108
County / Borough / Parish: Suffolk
Year listed: 2003
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1825-1949
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic
Current function: Commerce/Trade (Restaurant)
Privately owned?: yes
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2008 To: 12/31/2008
Hours of operation: From: 11:00 AM To: 8:30 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.