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Union Oyster House

Coordinates: 42°21′41″N 71°3′25″W / 42.36139°N 71.05694°W / 42.36139; -71.05694
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Union Oyster House
Union Oyster House
Map
Location41–43 Union Street,
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°21′41″N 71°3′25″W / 42.36139°N 71.05694°W / 42.36139; -71.05694
Builtpre-1714
Architectural styleGeorgian
Part ofBlackstone Block Historic District (ID73000315)
NRHP reference No.03000645[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 27, 2003
Designated NHLMay 27, 2003
Designated CPMay 26, 1973

Union Oyster House is a restaurant at 41–43 Union Street in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Open to diners since 1826, it is among the oldest operating restaurants in the United States and the oldest known to have been continuously operating. The building was listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 27, 2003.

History

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The building itself was built before 1714, most likely in 1704. Before it became a restaurant, Hopestill Capen's dress goods business occupied the property. In 1771, printer Isaiah Thomas published his newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, on the second floor. The restaurant originally opened as the Atwood & Bacon Oyster House on August 3, 1826.[2]

The Union Oyster House has had several famous people in history as diners, including the Kennedy family and Daniel Webster. Webster was known for regularly consuming at least six plates of oysters.[3] Perhaps most surprisingly, in 1796 Louis Philippe, King of the French from 1830 to 1848, lived in exile on the second floor.[4] He earned his living by teaching French to young women. Labor economist and president of Haverford College John Royston Coleman worked here incognito as a "salad-and-sandwich man" for a time in the 1970s and documented the experience in his book The Blue Collar Journal.[5]

The menu is traditional New England fare, including seafoods such as oysters, clams, and lobsters, as well as poultry, baked beans, steak and chops.

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  • Signage
    Signage
  • Union Oyster House, 1945
    Union Oyster House, 1945
  • First-floor plan and details
    First-floor plan and details

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ Yee, Vivian (August 3, 2011). "At Union Oyster House, a Feast of History". The Boston Globe.
  3. ^ Kerr, Jean; Smith, Spencer (2006). Mystic Seafood. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. p. 14. ISBN 978-0762741373.
  4. ^ Theroux, Alexander (December 8, 1985). "Dining Out in Old Boston". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (April 4, 1974). "Say 'Hello' to Your Trashman; Books of The Times A Vulnerable Identity Very Little Difference". The New York Times. p. 39.
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