{"nrhp_refnum":"66000913","name":"Gadsby's Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"128 N. Royal St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alexandria (Independent City)","county":"Alexandria","state":"VA","lat":38.80570934200006,"lon":-77.04365232699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1963-11-04","areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Communications"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Gadsby's Tavern is a pair of adjoining tavern buildings at 134 North Royal Street in Alexandria, Virginia. The smaller was built in 1752 as the City Tavern, and a three-story brick addition was built in 1792.","why_significant":"The tavern is described as one of the best known inns in America, nationally known for elegance and hospitality for about a century. George Washington recruited his first command there, and the Fairfax Resolves were prepared there. A convention on Potomac commerce that led toward the Constitutional convention met there. It also hosted many famous travelers between 1752 and about 1852.","narrative":"Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia, consists of two adjoining brick buildings on North Royal Street. The smaller, built in 1752, was first known as the City Tavern or Coffee House. It has a gabled roof with three dormers, a modillioned cornice, and a central entrance with fluted pilasters and a broken pediment, typical of late eighteenth-century Georgian Colonial design. In 1792 John Wise added a three-story brick building with a large ballroom and a musicians' gallery. John Gadsby took over the tavern under a lease in 1794, giving it its present name. The inn served as a center of Virginia life. George Washington recruited his first command there in 1754, the Fairfax Resolves were prepared there, and a Potomac commerce convention met there. Famous travelers stayed there for roughly a century. The American Legion bought the buildings in 1926, saving them from demolition, and restoration followed. The earlier building serves as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1752-c. 1852","architect_builder":"John Wise (built 1792 addition); John Gadsby (leased from 1794)","architectural_style":"Georgian Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Good condition, altered, occupied and open to the public as a museum; the larger tavern was planned for conversion into a working restaurant and tavern by 1976 while the earlier building remains a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.837866-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/6789/41678977/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000913_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000913/55ec8282c5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000913/55ec8282c5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Dmadeo","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gadsbys-tavern.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Dmadeo</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gadsbys-tavern.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000928","name":"Alexandria Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/alexandria-historic-district-66000928/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678977","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsby%27s_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5516440"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alexandria/gadsbys-tavern-66000913/"}