City Tavern

A favorite gathering place for the Founding Fathers after work, where delegates to the Continental Congress came for food, drink, and debate. The original tavern burned down in 1834 and was reconstructed in 1976 as a working restaurant serving colonial-era recipes.

Established in 1773, City Tavern was the political, social, and business center of the new United States. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Paul Revere all dined here, and the Declaration of Independence and Constitution both owe much to the discussions held within these walls. The tavern faced a devastating fire in 1834 and was eventually demolished in 1854, but it was meticulously rebuilt for the 1976 bicentennial celebration, so true to its original design that even the spirits formerly there continue to thrive today.

The most frequently reported ghost is a bride who was killed when curtains in her room caught fire. Her spirit can be seen in the tavern's windows, a tragic figure forever trapped in her final moments. A waiter who was killed in a duel also haunts the premises, his spirit known for moving tableware and rattling silverware when no one is around. Guests dining or drinking at City Tavern report unseen hands touching them.

Benjamin Franklin's ghost is said to visit City Tavern, one of his favorite establishments in life. His apparition has been witnessed mulling over documents, accompanied by a distinctive musty smell that now signals his spectral presence. The City Tavern stands as a Revolutionary-era gathering place where founding fathers dined and colonial ghosts still linger, making it a must-stop on Philadelphia ghost tours.