{"nrhp_refnum":"66000592","name":"Salem Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"800 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winston-Salem","county":"Forsyth County","state":"NC","lat":36.085485325000036,"lon":-80.24183028499993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1964-01-29","areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Communications"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story brick tavern at 736-800 South Main Street in the restored Old Salem area of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, built in 1784 by the Moravian congregation of Salem on the foundations of the town's original tavern.","why_significant":"It was the first brick building in Salem and replaced an earlier half-timbered tavern destroyed by fire. Its architectural integrity and authentic furnishings make it an outstanding example of a late 18th-century Southern ordinary. George Washington lodged there during his 1791 Southern tour.","narrative":"Salem Tavern, at 736-800 South Main Street in Old Salem, Winston-Salem, is a 2½-story brick inn with a gabled roof and a rear ell. The Moravian congregation that founded Salem built it in 1784 on the foundations of the town's first tavern, a half-timbered building lost to fire. It was the first brick building in the town. Inside, a center hall separates a public room from a more formal gentlemen's room, with guest chambers upstairs and the landlord's quarters and a large kitchen in the ell. The tavern earned a wide reputation for hospitality, and George Washington stayed in its northeast chamber during his 1791 Southern tour. By 1816 a second building was needed for overflow guests. After deterioration in the mid-20th century, Old Salem, Inc. leased it in 1953 and restored it in 1956 to its appearance around 1800, using congregation archives and inventories. It is now a museum and an outstanding example of a late 18th-century Southern ordinary.","period_of_significance":"1784","architect_builder":"not known","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored in 1956 to its appearance about 1800, maintained in excellent condition, and operated as a museum open to the public.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.508901-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7187/47718792/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/66000592_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000592/d67a51724c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000592/d67a51724c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_Tavern_Old_Salem_NC_Jan_2015.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_Tavern_Old_Salem_NC_Jan_2015.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000591","name":"Old Salem Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/old-salem-historic-district-66000591/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718792","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7404190"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/forsyth-county/salem-tavern-66000592/"}