Located along the Boston Freedom Trail is a restaurant which claims to be the oldest restaurant in America. There are no records which validate when the 3-story red-brick Georgian style Union Oyster House was erected, however, most historians place the building between 1714-1717.
It was originally known as the Capen House and functioned as a dry-goods store until 1798 when it became a tailor shop. During the period of 1771-5 the oldest newspaper in the US, a former-Whig Party paper by the name of The Massachusetts Spy was printed here on the 2nd floor. The 2nd floor was also served as the temporary lodging in 1796 for a young man by the name of Louis Phillippe, who earned a living by providing French lessons. Louis, when he returned to his homeland in France, went on to become the last king of France from the period of 1830-1848.
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| Boston’s Union Oyster House |
Our current resident, the Union Oyster House (UOH) first opened for business here in 1826. It is said that almost one-half of the items on the current menu are originals from when the place first opened. The first toothpick was supposedly used here. These picks were imported from South America. To “market” the new idea, the UOH hired people to sit at the restaurant and ask for one.
If you fancy catching a bite at the UOH, look for booth number 18 upstairs. This booth was dedicated to a regular customer who would often spend his Sundays reading the newspaper here. His name was John F Kennedy. And if you go inside and wish to view the Kennedy booth, but don’t want to appear like too much of a tourist, it is on the second level and don’t worry,
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