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Union Oyster House

Coordinates: 42°21′41″N 71°3′25″W / 42.36139°N 71.05694°W / 42.36139; -71.05694
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Union Oyster House
Pictured in 2025
Map
Location41–43 Union Street,
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°21′41″N 71°3′25″W / 42.36139°N 71.05694°W / 42.36139; -71.05694
Builtc. 1716 (309 years ago) (1716)
Architectural styleGeorgian
Part ofBlackstone Block Historic District (ID73000315)
NRHP reference No.03000645[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 27, 2003
Designated NHLMay 27, 2003
Designated CPMay 26, 1973

Union Oyster House is a restaurant at 41–43 Union Street in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Open to diners since 1826, it is among the oldest operating restaurants in the United States and the oldest known to have been continuously operating. The building, which is part of the Blackstone Block Historic District, was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2003.

History

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The building itself was built around 1716.[2] In 1742,[2] before it became a restaurant, Hopestill Capen's dress goods business, At the Sign of the Cornfields, occupied the property. In 1771, printer Isaiah Thomas published his newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, on the second floor.[2] The restaurant originally opened as the Atwood & Bacon Oyster House on August 3, 1826.[3]

The Union Oyster House has had several famous people in history as regular diners, including the Kennedy family, John F. Kerry, and Daniel Webster.[4] Webster was known for regularly consuming at least six plates of oysters.[5] In 1796, Louis Philippe was living in exile on the second floor.[2][6] He earned his living by teaching French to young women. Labor economist and Haverford College president John Royston Coleman worked here incognito as a "salad-and-sandwich man" for a time in the 1970s and documented the experience in his book The Blue Collar Journal.[7]

As of 2015, the restaurant was selling an estimated 60,000 plates of oysters each year (or 164 plates daily).[2]

Expansions

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The business has expanded into the adjacent buildings on either side of the original central section.[2] The bar expansion is on the left, facing Bell in Hand Tavern; its Union Goods merchandise store is on the right, next to the Yankee Publishing Building at 33 Union Street.

Owners

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Between 1826 and 1913, the Atwood family owned the business. They sold it to the Fitzgerald family, who changed the name of the business to Union Oyster House. In 1940, the Greaves brothers became the new owners. Thirty years later, they sold it to the Milano family, who own it as of 2025.[2]

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  • Signage
    Signage
  • Union Oyster House, 1945
    Union Oyster House, 1945
  • First-floor plan and details
    First-floor plan and details

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Olia, Maria (January 20, 2015). Discovering Vintage Boston: A Guide to the City's Timeless Shops, Bars, Restaurants & More. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-4930-1657-0.
  3. ^ Yee, Vivian (August 3, 2011). "At Union Oyster House, a Feast of History". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ Kerry, John (2018). Every Day is Extra. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 319. ISBN 978-1501178955.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Kerr, Jean; Smith, Spencer (2006). Mystic Seafood. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. p. 14. ISBN 978-0762741373.
  6. ^ Theroux, Alexander (December 8, 1985). "Dining Out in Old Boston". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (April 4, 1974). "Say 'Hello' to Your Trashman; Books of The Times A Vulnerable Identity Very Little Difference". The New York Times. p. 39.
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