Formerly: Atwood's Oyster House (1826–nineteenth century) · Atwood & Bacon Oyster House (nineteenth century)
Boston, Massachusetts · Founded 1826 · Building: early eighteenth century; exact construction date unresolved
Boston's 1826 oyster house, preserved in an early-eighteenth-century building and recognized as America's oldest continuously operating restaurant.
Union Oyster House began as Hawes Atwood and Allen Holbrook Bacon's oyster house on October 7, 1826. It occupies a building with early-eighteenth-century origins, where Isaiah Thomas published The Massachusetts Spy from 1771 to 1775. The National Historic Landmark nomination identifies it as the oldest continually operating restaurant and oyster bar in the United States.
The building's first floor is documented as housing Hopestill Capen's silk and dry-goods business, "At the Sign of the Cornfields."
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House
Printer Isaiah Thomas begins publishing The Massachusetts Spy from an upper-floor room in the building.
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House; Union Oyster House, "History"
Isaiah Thomas's Union Street printing operation ends as Revolutionary-era conditions force his departure from Boston.
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House
Hawes Atwood and Allen Holbrook Bacon open Atwood's/Atwood & Bacon Oyster House at 41–43 Union Street.
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House; American Battlefield Trust, "Old Oyster House"
The Fitzgerald family purchases the business and renames it Union Oyster House.
Source: History of Massachusetts, "Union Oyster House: Oldest Restaurant in Boston"
Joseph Milano purchases Union Oyster House; the Milano family continues to operate the restaurant.
Source: History of Massachusetts, "Union Oyster House: Oldest Restaurant in Boston"; National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House
Union Oyster House is designated a National Historic Landmark.
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The National Park Service's National Historic Landmark nomination identifies Union Oyster House as the oldest continually operating restaurant and oyster bar in the United States and records restaurant use at the site from 1826 to the present.
The National Historic Landmark nomination dates Hawes Atwood's founding of the oyster house to October 7, 1826 and identifies Allen Holbrook Bacon as his partner.
The building clearly predates the restaurant and had early-eighteenth-century residential and commercial uses, but the National Historic Landmark nomination uses an early-1700s-to-circa-1742 period description and the restaurant says municipal construction records do not exist. A precise 1704 construction year is not established.
The National Historic Landmark nomination documents Isaiah Thomas's publication of The Massachusetts Spy from an upper-floor room beginning in 1771 and continuing until 1775.
The National Historic Landmark nomination records a 1977 dedication plaque identifying Booth 18 as Kennedy's favorite booth, and the restaurant preserves the same tradition. This review did not locate JFK Library material, contemporaneous photographs, staff records, or personal correspondence independently proving the frequency or timing of his visits.
The story is widely repeated in restaurant lore, but no primary source was located in this review identifying Union Oyster House as the first American restaurant to provide toothpicks or proving an introduction date.
Daniel Webster's association with the oyster house is a common historical tradition, but the exact six-plate story was not substantiated through a contemporary account in this review.
The Union Oyster House building was built in 1826.
The restaurant opened in 1826, but the building had earlier eighteenth-century residential and commercial uses. Its exact construction date is unresolved; the National Historic Landmark nomination documents commercial occupancy by 1742.
Source: National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Nomination for Union Oyster House; Union Oyster House, "History"
The business has always been called Union Oyster House.
The restaurant began in 1826 under Atwood-related oyster-house names. The Fitzgerald family renamed it Union Oyster House in 1913.
Source: American Battlefield Trust, "Old Oyster House"; History of Massachusetts, "Union Oyster House: Oldest Restaurant in Boston"
Union Oyster House introduced toothpicks to the United States.
The claim is repeated in restaurant lore, but no primary evidence was located here establishing that Union Oyster House first introduced toothpicks to American dining.
Source: No primary or strong independent source located in this review
Daniel Webster's six-plate oyster meal is a documented restaurant record.
The exact story is a longstanding tradition but was not verified in a contemporary account during this review.
Source: CityDays, "Union Oyster House"
Union Oyster House combines a durable downtown Boston address with an unusually continuous restaurant identity, preservation status, and a succession of relatively few ownership eras. The Atwood family, Fitzgerald family, Greaves brothers, and Milano family each preserved or extended the oyster-house tradition rather than replacing it with an unrelated use.
The National Park Service's National Historic Landmark nomination identifies Union Oyster House in Boston as the oldest continuously operating restaurant and oyster bar in the United States. The restaurant began as an oyster house on October 7, 1826.
Union Oyster House opened on October 7, 1826, when Hawes Atwood and Allen Holbrook Bacon established an oyster house at 41–43 Union Street. It was initially known by Atwood-related names and became Union Oyster House in 1913.
The building predates the restaurant and has early-eighteenth-century origins, but its precise construction year is unresolved. The National Historic Landmark nomination documents commercial use by 1742, while the restaurant says there are no municipal records proving a specific construction date such as 1704.
Union Oyster House preserves Booth 18 as John F. Kennedy's favorite booth, and the National Historic Landmark nomination records its 1977 dedication plaque. The tradition is well established, although this review did not locate independent JFK Library records proving the frequency of his visits.
Yes. Before the building became a restaurant, Isaiah Thomas published The Massachusetts Spy from an upper-floor room between 1771 and 1775. The National Park Service documents this printing history in the National Historic Landmark nomination.
The Milano family operates Union Oyster House. Historical accounts report that Joseph Milano bought the restaurant in 1970, and the National Historic Landmark nomination identifies Joseph A. Milano Jr. as owner; this review did not separately verify the current real-property owner or corporate entity.
41 Union St, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 227-2750
The restaurant is at 41–43 Union Street near Faneuil Hall; check current hours and reservation policies before visiting.