{"nrhp_refnum":"89002256","name":"Dickson Tavern","other_names":["Perry Memorial House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 French St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Erie","county":"Erie County","state":"PA","lat":42.13456937700005,"lon":-80.08754925999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-01-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former tavern at the southeast corner of French and Second Streets in Erie, Pennsylvania, built in two parts, a north section in 1815 and a south section in 1841.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building reflects Erie's rise as a Great Lakes port between 1815 and 1841 and that it is the only surviving tavern from those years. It is also presented as the best remaining example of an early community tavern and as a link to the town's pre-urban past.","narrative":"Erie's former tavern was built at the southeast corner of French and Second Streets, with a north section erected in 1815 and a south section added in 1841, on a stone foundation with clapboard walls. William Himrod built the original section for John Dickson, who ran it as the Exchange Coffee House and served meals, oysters and drinks to travelers and residents. It is regarded as the only tavern known to survive from the years 1815 to 1841, when Erie became a busy Great Lakes port with steamboats and stagecoaches. The building is also tied to an 1825 outdoor banquet for the Marquis de Lafayette, held on the Second Street bridge under sails from British vessels captured at the Battle of Lake Erie. Its Federal-style north section shows orderly windows and a pedimented roof, while later Greek Revival changes altered the south section. After 1841 it served as a residence, and in 1924 the city acquired it and converted it into a museum called Perry Memorial House.","period_of_significance":"1815-1841","architect_builder":"Himrod, William (builder)","architectural_style":"Early Republican/Federal with Mid-Nineteenth Century/Greek Revival elements","criteria":["A"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.236196-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/89002256.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002256/9bfa79d113-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002256/9bfa79d113-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Niagara","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dickson_Tavern,_Sept_2013.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Niagara</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:Dickson_Tavern,_Sept_2013.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995539","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickson_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5273809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/erie-county/dickson-tavern-89002256/"}