Boston has bars where the history goes a lot deeper than an old wooden sign on the wall.
Some are tied to the Revolution. Others trace their histories back more than two centuries. And one comes with a pretty important historical catch.
The Green Dragon story starts before America
The Green Dragon Tavern carries a history that reaches back to colonial Boston.
The original Green Dragon, located nearby on Union Street, became a meeting place for revolutionaries.
Paul Revere later wrote that he and a group of more than 30 men met there secretly in 1774 and 1775 to track British troop movements, even swearing not to reveal what happened in the meetings.
Here is the part worth knowing: the bar you can visit today is not the original Green Dragon.
The original building was demolished in the 19th century, while the current Marshall Street version opened in 1993.
Still a great Boston story. Just a slightly more complicated one than the sign suggests.
George Washington stopped at this one
Warren Tavern was built in Charlestown in 1780, only a few years after much of the neighborhood was burned during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
George Washington visited in 1789, and Paul Revere also visited the tavern.
It still stands at 2 Pleasant Street, just a short walk from the Bunker Hill Monument.
Boston’s town crier opened a bar
Bell in Hand dates to 1795 and was founded by Jimmy Wilson, who had spent decades working as Boston’s town crier.
Wilson had one unusual rule: hard liquor was out.
The tavern became known for ale, and historical accounts say it served only ale and porter until 1919.
The Bell traces its history back more than 230 years. It has moved locations over time and was closed during Prohibition from 1920 to 1933.
And then there is America’s oldest continuously operating restaurant
Union Oyster House started serving food in 1826.
National Park Service records identify it as the oldest continuously operating restaurant and oyster bar in the United States.
Its historic semicircular oyster bar remains inside.
National Park Service records also describe Daniel Webster as a regular who was reputed to pair his oysters with brandy and water.
Boston has plenty of places designed to look historic.
These places come with stories that actually stretch across revolutions, presidents and more than two centuries of Boston history.
