The Widow Maloby's Tavern is an historic, American

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

building that is located in the

Queen Village Queen Village is a residential neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States that lies along the eastern edge of the city in South Philadelphia. It shares boundaries with Society Hill to the north, Bella Vista to the west and Pennsp ...

section of

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Part of the

South Front Street Historic District South Front Street Historic District is a national historic district located in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses seven contributing buildings, including the Nathaniel Irish House, Widow Maloby's Tav ...

, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 16, 1972.

History and architectural features

Built in 1764 in Philadelphia's former Southwark district for Thomas Maloby (alternate spelling "Mallaby"), a rigger in Philadelphia's large shipping industry, this historic structure was owner-occupied in 1765, according to zoning records held by the city of Philadelphia. The owners, Maloby and his wife, Christiana, operated a bar room in the building's front parlor and a dining room in the back parlor, which also served as their family's personal dining room. That back parlor was erected adjacent to a small kitchen area at the back of the home during the home's original construction period. During its first months of operation, the tavern supplemented the shipping industry wages that Maloby brought in, but this soon changed when he died in 1765. Ownership of the property was subsequently transferred to his widow, who continued to operate the tavern until her death. Ownership of the property was subsequently transferred. Sold to different owners during the late nineteenth century, those owners opted to use the residential structure as an income property, but did not live there. They did, however, renovate it to remove the kitchen and add an extension at the back of the structure.Brey, "The Goals of Zoning Reform, Part III: Protecting Philadelphia’s natural and historic resources," WHYY-PBS. A three-and-one-half-story, three-bay by two-bay, brick

rowhouse A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

that was originally painted yellow, it remained a tavern and community gathering place for more than a century. ''Note:'' This includes It was added to the

on March 16, 1972. The tavern is also part of the

Gallery

700 Front HABS 1961.jpg, The 700 block of South Front Street in 1961 with Widow Maloby's Tavern first on the right 700-704 S Front Philly.JPG, 700-704 S. Front in 2013, the tavern is on the right

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1764 establishments in Pennsylvania Commercial buildings completed in 1764 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Front Street (Philadelphia) Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia South Philadelphia