Name/Title
2 Unity Alley, Long Room, McCrady's TavernEntry/Object ID
UNITY.002.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1779; rehabilitated and partially restored 1982. Edward McCrady, a wealthy landowner and Revolutionary patriot, completed a tavern fronting on East Bay Street by 1779. The site included a separate kitchen across the rear courtyard topped by a space used as a long room, or ballroom. He constructed this two-story brick building as an assembly room for public entertainment; it subsequently became a forum for the Charleston Theatre. George Washington was entertained at a banquet in the long room during his visit in 1791. The brick arches and kitchen fireplaces still visible on the first floor constitute the most interesting original survivors of the tavern. By the late-19th century the structure became a warehouse. In the 1970s it was restored and rehabilitated as a restaurant. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains newspaper articles (including 1972 DYKYC); FOHG House history (undated); house history from Information for Guides of Historic Charleston (1984); photocopies of early plat; "Archeological Investigations in the Interior of McCrady's Longroom, 38CH559" by Kenneth E. Lewis (1982); brief building assessment (Edward Chappell, 1995); transcription of "appraisement of the personal estate of Edward McCrady" (1795); correspondence related to the proposed demolition of the building (1971-1972); excerpt from "Washington's Southern Tour, 1791" (Archibald Henderson, 1923); McCrady's Tavern informational brochure; magazine article ("before and after," Local Palate, 2012).
No image of building on file; only photo reprint of 1808 plat.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
UNITY.002.Source or Donor
2 Unity Alley (Long Room, McCrady's Tavern)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Taverns (Inns)Search Terms
Unity Alley, National Register of Historic Places, Historic buildings--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files.
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 106Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
Related Units of Description: Preservation Consultants files (Part I and/or Part II applications and/or photos and/or miscellaneous documentation), 2011.022.1Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 148Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
July 5, 2012Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 16, 2023