Old Taverns of New York

Across the river on Long Island the Jamaica Turnpike was the great drive for horsemen. On this road were many notable public houses, frequented by horsemen. At Jamaica, nearly opposite the Union Course, was John R. Snedeker’s tavern, a large three-story white frame house with a piaza along its whole front. For more than a quarter of a century this was the accepted rendezvous of the trotting-horse fraternity. The first authentic record made by a trotting horse on a track in the presence of judges was made in May, 1826, on the new track of the New York Trotting Club at Jamaica and a New York newspaper of May 16 states that “the owner and friends of the winning horse gave a splendid dinner and champagne at Snedecor’s tavern.” Snedeker’s dinners became celebrated far and wide and horsemen from every section came to feast on his game, fish and asparagus which no one else could surpass or equal.

Visit of Lafayette

The year 1824 is notable for the visit to this country of General Lafayette, who, accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, arrived at New York in the ship Cadmus on the 16th of August. Besides the committee of the corporation, members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Revolutionary officers and soldiers, a deputation from West Point and distinguished guests and official personages, more than six thousand persons went down the bay to meet him, and his welcome to our shores was such as no man had ever received before. The day was delightful, and the surface of the bay was dotted with every conceivable kind of craft. The ships and vessels were liberally decorated with all kinds of flags and signals. As the grand flotilla with the guest of the nation approached the city, continual salutes rolled out their signs of welcome above the shouts of the people, while on shore hundreds of bells were ringing. The military, three thousand in number, formed in line, and on landing, Lafayette was received with a salute of twenty-one guns. After a review of the troops commanded by General James Benedict, he was conducted to the City Hall in a barouche drawn by four horses, escorted by a troop of horse and followed by a long line of citizen soldiery. Here a public reception was held till five o’clock, when the General was escorted to his quarters at the City Hotel, where a dinner was given in his honor by the civil and military authorities. In the evening the town was illuminated and fireworks and transparencies were displayed in honor of the occasion.

At the City Hotel Lafayette was waited on by the clergy of the city, by the officers of the militia, by social societies, by the French Society, by delegations from Baltimore, from Philadelphia, from New England and from up the Hudson; and when on Friday morning the General prepared to leave the city, the military paraded at seven o’clock and repaired to the City Hotel, whence at eight o’clock Lafayette, the committee appointed to accompany him to Boston and the military escort, commanded by General Prosper M. Wetmore, moved up Broadway to Bond Street and thence up Third Avenue.

Grand Banquet at Washington Hall

On Lafayette’s return from New England he arrived by steamboat about noon on the 4th of September amid salutes from the men-of-war, and on his landing was given the same hearty welcome he had received on his first arrival, and was escorted to his old lodgings at the City Hotel. He was informed that the Society of the Cincinnati intended to celebrate the anniversary of his birth on the 6th of September and was invited to dine with them at Washington Hall. “About 4 o’clock in the afternoon of that day a long line of venerable gentlemen, members of the Society of the Cincinnati, arrived at the hotel, preceded by a military band. The general was received into their ranks and an insignia of the Society, which had been worn by Washington, was attached to his coat. The old soldiers then marched to the hall where they were to dine. Crowds filled the streets through which they passed slowly and many feebly.” The banquet hall was decorated with trophies of arms and banners bearing the names of Revolutionary heroes. At the top of the room, directly over the seat of Lafayette at the upper end of the table, was erected a rich triumphal arch of laurel, roses, etc., reaching to the ceiling. Directly in front, at the center of the arch, was a large spread eagle with a scroll in its beak on which was inscribed “Sept. 6, 1757” (the birthday of the “Nation’s Guest”), and grasping in its talons a ribbon or scroll, one end passing to the right on which was “Brandywine, Sept. 11, 1777,” the other to the left bearing the words “Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781.” Behind the General’s chair was planted the grand standard of the Society entwined with the thirteen stripes of the flag of the nation. On the right was a shield bearing a rising sun and on the left a shield with the New York State arms. In the center of the room was a splendid star surrounded by others of less magnitude. From this star two broad pennants from the Franklin 74, were crossed and carried to the four corners of the room. At the lower end of the room was the transparency by Childs. A number of trophies of the navy were loaned by Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Goldsborough. Towards the close of the festival a grand transparency showing Washington and Lafayette holding each others’ hands standing before the altar of Liberty, receiving a civic wreath from the hands of America, caused great applause, which was followed by the reading of the order of the day at Yorktown by General Swartwout. Then, amidst cheering, the gallant veteran, General Lamb, sang a ballad composed in 1792, while Lafayette was in the Austrian dungeon. The night was far spent when the old gentlemen reached their several homes. In the evening of September 11, Lafayette attended a dinner given by the French residents of New York at Washington Hall in celebration of the forty-seventh anniversary of the battle of Brandywine. A novel and remarkable decoration of the table on this occasion was a miniature of the new canal which traversed the state. It was sixty feet long and several inches deep, filled with water and the banks sodded. The bridges, locks and towns were properly indicated.

Ball at Castle Garden

The honor and respect shown to Lafayette culminated in the great ball given at Castle Garden on Wednesday, September 14, which, it is said, for splendor and magnificence surpassed anything of the kind ever seen in America. Six thousand persons attended, which included all the beauty and fashion of New York and vicinity. The castle, which was a circle, was enclosed with an awning to the height of seventy-five feet, the dome being supported in the center by a column, dressed with the colors of the Cincinnati. It was a magnificent affair, long remembered in the city. Lafayette and a large party went from the ball on board the steamboat, James Kent, chartered by the committee to take the nation’s guest up the Hudson.

Clubs

There were several social clubs in the city holding their meetings at hotels, and Fitz-Greene Halleck, the poet, a man whose society was sought and desired, appears to have been a member of every club in the city, great or small. He was one of a small circle who met occasionally at the City Hotel. Tuckerman says: “There was a select club many years ago in New York, the members of which dined together at stated intervals at the old City Hotel on Broadway; the utmost freedom of intercourse and good faith marked their prandial converse, and one day when a sudden silence followed the entrance of the host, it was proposed to elect him to the fraternity, that they might talk freely in his presence, which was frequent and indispensable. He kept a hotel after the old régime, was a gentleman in his feelings, an honest and intelligent fellow, who prided himself upon his method of serving up roast pig – in which viand his superiority was such that the gentle Elia, had he ever dined with the club, would have mentioned him with honor in the essay on that crispy and succulent dish. The proposition was opposed by only one individual, a clever man, who had made his fortune by buying up all the bristles at Odessa, thus securing a monopoly which enabled him to vend the article to the brushmakers at an enormous profit. His objection to Boniface was that he was famous for nothing but roasting a pig, and no fit associate for gentlemen. ‘Your aristocratic standard is untenable,’ said Halleck, ‘for what essential difference is there between spurs won from roasting a porker or by selling his bristles?’ and amid the laugh of his confreres, mine host was elected.”

The Bread and Cheese Club was organized in 1824 by James Fenimore Cooper. It included among its members conspicuous professional men in science, law, letters and philosophy, of whom were Fitz-Greene Halleck, William A. and John Duer, Professor Renwick, Philip Hone, James De Kay, the great naturalist, Charles Augustus Davis, Dr. John W. Francis, Charles King, Verplanck, Bryant and Sands. The selections for nomination rested entirely with Cooper; bread and cheese were used in balloting and one of cheese barred the way to membership. The club met at Washington Hall fortnightly and for fifteen years, either here or at the houses of its members were entertained nearly every distinguished person who visited New York during that period. Meetings of the club, often a large assembly, were attended by members of Congress and distinguished strangers, among whom were often found Daniel Webster, Henry R. Storrs, William Beach Lawrence and the French minister, Hyde De Neuville.

A little later was the Book Club. Although said to have been founded by the Rev. Dr. Wainwright, and in spite of its name, it was rather convivial than literary. Philip Hone describes it as a club which met every other Thursday at Washington Hall, “where they sup, drink champagne and whisky punch, talk as well as they know how and run each other good humoredly.” He did not understand why it should be called a Book Club, for the book of subscriptions to expenses was the only one it possessed. He declares that they were a very pleasant set of fellows, and sat late. The first time he met with them after being made a member of the club was in March, 1835, and when he came away at one o’clock he left them at the supper table. The party that evening consisted of about twenty, viz.: Davis, President Duer, Charles King, Wilkins, William Kent, Harvey, Arthur Barclay, Isaac Hone, Halleck, Ogden Hoffman, Patterson, Blunt, Dr. Francis, Baron Behr, Mr. Trelauney, author of “The Younger Son,” Beverly Robinson, etc.

Semi-Centennial of Washington’s Inauguration

The semi-centennial anniversary of the inauguration of Washington as the first President of the United States was celebrated in the city of New York by the Historical Society on the 30th of April, 1839. At twelve o’clock an oration was delivered in the Middle Dutch Church by John Quincy Adams, the venerable ex-President of the United States, to a numerous and appreciative audience. At four o’clock the members of the society and their invited guests dined at the City Hotel. The president of the society, Peter G. Stuyvesant, sat at the head of the table, with two venerable contemporaries of the American Revolution, General Morgan Lewis, once governor of New York, and Colonel John Trumbull, the one at his right hand and the other at his left. Among the guests were William Pennington, governor of New Jersey, General Winfield Scott, Commodore Claxton, Samuel Southard and other distinguished individuals, together with delegates from other historical societies. Mr. Adams was toasted, and replied in a speech in which he claimed for the era of the American Revolution the title of the heroic age of America, and that it deserved this title with more justice than the title of heroic age bestowed upon the early history of Greece. In the course of the evening speeches were made by General Scott, Commodore Claxton of the American Navy, Mr. Southard and others, and an original ode was sung.

In 1842, John Jacob Astor was the owner of the City Hotel, and by deed dated March 9th of that year conveyed to his granddaughter Sarah, wife of Robert Boreel, and daughter of Dorothea Langdon, a life interest in the property after his death, which after her death is to be divided among her children. The deed states: “Whereas I am desirous of providing by deed for my granddaughter Sarah, wife of Robert Boreel, and of disposing in the manner in these presents expressed, of the property which in my will I had designated for her,” etc., “and whereas her husband is an alien, and although one of her sons is born in the state of New York, other children may be born to her without the United States, who will be aliens,” etc. “Now these presents,” etc. The property is described as “all the lands and buildings in the city of New York now known as the City Hotel.” The deed allows her, in case the buildings are destroyed by fire to mortgage the land for the purpose of rebuilding and under certain conditions she may sell the property and place the proceeds in trust. The deed seems to be confirmatory or supplementary to the will.

The City Hotel Ends Its Career

Chester Jennings was still the landlord of the City Hotel in 1847, and it was in the following year or soon after that it terminated its career as a house of entertainment, which, including the City Tavern on the same site, had lasted for very close to one hundred years, an eventful period in the city’s history. The building was taken down and on its site was erected an office building seven stories high which was called the Boreel Building. It was the largest and for a long time was considered the finest building devoted to office purposes in the city. It was a conspicuous structure and well known to the citizens of New York. Sarah Boreel died in 1897. Her heirs sold the property in 1901.

Plans had been made to acquire this and contiguous properties in order to erect an immense building. This, in the course of three or four years, was accomplished, and under the same control, the United States Realty Building and the Trinity Building, the two sometimes called the Twin Trinity Buildings, were erected.

On April 6, 1906, the Board of Estimates and Apportionment passed a resolution by which an exchange of land was made by the city and the owners of this property. Temple Street, between Thames and Cedar Streets, and Thames Street, between Broadway and Trinity Place, were vacated, and in return Cedar Street was widened on the south side between Broadway and Trinity Place or Church Street, and a new Thames Street was laid out between Broadway and Trinity Place, with lines somewhat different from those of the former street, but covering nearly the same ground. This exchange of land allowed the United States Realty Building to be constructed so as to cover what had been formerly two blocks, extending from Broadway to Trinity Place.

The large double brick house No. 39 Broadway, built in 1786 by General Alexander Macomb, and occupied by Washington when President of the United States, with the houses adjoining it on either side, was opened in the year 1821 by William I. Bunker and was known as Bunker’s Mansion House. It became quite famous, being considered, in its most prosperous days, as a very large and commodious house. Kept with the utmost neatness and attention and usually filled with the best of people, being largely patronized by southern families, it possessed much of the comfort and quiet refinement of a private residence. Bunker, who was a very courteous and affable man, succeeded so well that in the course of a few years he sold out and retired from business.

In the year 1833 Stephen Holt erected on Fulton Street, from Pearl to Water, an hotel, which was the largest and most magnificent building for hotel purposes, up to that time, in the country. It was at first called Holt’s Hotel, afterwards the United States Hotel, and its rate of one dollar and a half a day was thought to be exorbitant. Here steam was used probably for the first time in an hotel to save labor. Passenger elevators had not yet been thought of, but baggage was carried to the upper floors by steam power, and it was also used in turning spits, grinding and cleaning knives, etc., but the main purpose of the engine was the digging of an artesian well, which was sunk to the depth of over five hundred feet, and subsequently put down much further. Holt’s experiment proved to him disastrous. The expenses exceeded the receipts. He failed and the hotel passed into other hands. The next large hotel to be erected in the city was the Astor House, three years later.

The advent of the railroad and the great increase of travel created a decided change in the taverns or, as they had come to be called, hotels. It was no longer the custom of the landlord to meet the traveller at the door and welcome him as a friend or attend in person to his comfort. It was the beginning of a new era, in which the old tavern and the old-style landlord is unknown. With the opening of this era the story which I have undertaken to tell about the Old Taverns of New York comes to an end.

notes

1

New York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy.

2

New York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy.

3

New York Mercury.

4

New York Gazette.

5

New York Evening Post.

6

Dayton.

7

Dayton.