A New Fraunces Tavern Exhibit Will Recreate America’s First Executive Offices

Everyone knows Fraunces Tavern was an important site during the Revolutionary War, with George Washington among its famous patrons. What you might not know is that the building at 54 Pearl Street had an important role after the Revolution: serving as home to the country’s first executive government building, where the new Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of War and offices of the Board of Treasury were located. 

This summer, you can see a recreated version of those offices. On June 22, a new permanent exhibit called “Governing the Nation from Fraunces Tavern,” opens at the site, featuring about 60 tables, chairs, desks, maps, newspapers and other items authentic to the period. It’s a chance for visitors to travel back to the early days of America and enter the offices as they appeared at a busy time in the young country’s history—a chance to envision how military, diplomatic and financial challenges affected the framing of the Constitution. 

To celebrate the new exhibit, the museum is offering $1 admission on opening day. The recreation was possible thanks to a detailed cash book from the time that documented purchases made for the offices, which are located in the National Archives.

For more details about the exhibit, visit Frauncestavernmuseum.org.