The architectural history of Manhattan’s Fraunces Tavern dates back to 1719, when merchant Étienne “Stephen” De Lancey (1663-1741) applied to the city of New York’s Common Council for, and was granted, an additional three and a half feet on his plot of land so he could build “a large brick house,” which he then proceeded to have constructed at 54 Pearl Street.
Samuel Fraunces (1721/22-1795) purchased this building in 1762 and years later, in advertisements for its sale, described it as three stories high with a tile and lead roof. After Samuel Fraunces’s time, the building was damaged, but not destroyed, by several fires beginning in 1832. [Read more…] about Fraunces Tavern: Architecture and Restoration
