Warren Tavern
Charlestown (Boston), Massachusetts · Colonial America · Est. 1780 · Open today
Since 1780
The Warren Tavern was erected in 1780 as one of the first buildings raised after the British burned Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775; builder Captain Eliphalet Newell named it for his friend Dr. Joseph Warren, the Revolutionary leader killed at Bunker Hill. In its early years it was frequented by Revolutionary figures including Paul Revere, and George Washington stopped there for refreshments. Accounts of its continuity diverge: the History of Massachusetts Blog reports it was shuttered in 1813 and the building housed a bakery, private club, and warehouse before reopening as a tavern in 1972 after being saved from demolition, while the Charlestown Historical Society maintains its primary function since 1780 has been as a tavern with only short closures. It still serves food and drink today in its original 1780 building on Pleasant Street.
George Washington and Paul Revere both drank here — Revere was a frequent patron, and the tavern is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, the patriot killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
How solid is the claim?
Massachusetts’s oldest bar — the evidence
Warren Tavern in Charlestown (Boston) is our featured pick for the oldest bar in Massachusetts, with a claimed founding year of 1780. Widely cited as the oldest tavern in Massachusetts and the oldest Boston-area tavern still in its original 1780 building, but continuity is contested: histories report it was shuttered in 1813, spent decades as a bakery, private club, and warehouse, and reopened as a tavern only in 1972 after preservationists saved the building, while the Charlestown Historical Society maintains its primary function since 1780 has been as a tavern with only short closures. Bell in Hand Tavern (1795) makes a credible rival claim as the oldest continuously operating tavern.
Competing Claims
Other Massachusetts establishments with a stake in the title: