Gadsby's Tavern & Museum
VA - Alexandria, Virginia, USA
134 N Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
MUSEUM
VISITOR INFORMATION
TICKET REQUIRED
Closed Wednesdays year-round, and also Mondays and Tuesdays in fall and winter.
FREE PUBLIC PARKING
There is an admission charge for tours.
PUBLIC RESTROOMS
SITE FEATURES
Restaurant
Surviving Structures
Spring-autumn tourism and holiday/event dates may add demand (Virginia regional inference). Individual-feature peak unconfirmed.
April-May or September-October for the museum paired with Old Town walks in generally milder weather. Confirm timed tours, current open days and any special-event access.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
2
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
About Gadsby's Tavern & Museum
A tavern operated on this corner during the Revolutionary era, when Alexandria’s public houses served as centers of commerce, news, political discussion, and military travel. Mary Hawkins ran the earlier establishment in the 1770s. The surviving tavern buildings were constructed after independence, beginning about 1785, but they continued the site’s colonial hospitality tradition and became gathering places for veterans and leaders of the new republic.
Two adjoining historic tavern buildings survive in Alexandria, with the 1785 tavern operating as a museum and the later City Tavern serving as a restaurant. Restored rooms, collections, conserved architectural fabric, and period furnishings interpret travel, dining, lodging, entertainment, and civic life.
History happened here at Gadsby's Tavern & Museum
George Washington frequently visited the taverns, and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent customers of the tavern included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson was feted in 1801 with a banquet in the ballroom of the City Tavern. The Marquis de Lafayette was also guest to festivities at the City Tavern during his tour of the United States in 1824.
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
City of Alexandria, Gadsby’s Tavern Museum: https://alexandriava.gov/GadsbysTavern
City of Alexandria, museum history: https://alexandriava.gov/museums/history-of-gadsbys-tavern-museum
National Park Service, Gadsby’s Tavern: https://www.nps.gov/places/gadsby-s-tavern.htm
City of Alexandria, visitor information: https://www.alexandriava.gov/museums/location/visit-gadsbys-tavern-museum
City of Alexandria, museum collections: https://alexandriava.gov/museums/collections-at-gadsbys-tavern-museum