from Colonial Architecture in New York City, 1913 (copyright expired)
The knoll north of Wall Street was called Gouwenberg by the Dutch settlers because of the profusion of yellow flowers that bloomed there. The English later modified the name to Golden Hill. In 1660, King Street appeared on maps, which was later renamed William Street in honor of William Beekman, who arrived from Amsterdam in 1647.
As early as 1750, George Burns operated the Horse and Cart tavern at what would be numbered 122 William Street. In his 1915 Old Taverns of New York, William Harrison Bayles writes, "Landlords came and landlords went, but the sign of the Horse and Cart remained." According to Bayles, the tavern was still known as the Horse and Cart as late as 1765.
The inn-and-tavern was purchased in 1773 by Samuel Gilford. It is unclear whether it was already known as the Golden Hill Inn or if Gilford renamed it. A sea captain and shipping merchant, he and his wife, the former Penelope Codwise had at least four children, three sons and a daughter.
from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York
As discontent with England festered, the Golden Hill Inn became the meeting spot of the Sons of Liberty, who erected a liberty pole in the rear yard. Alice Morse Earle, in her 1915 Stage Coach and Tavern Days, writes, "within its walls gathered the committee in 1769, to protest against Lieutenant-governor Colden's dictum that the colonists must pay for supplies for the British soldiers." Among the British response was the cutting down of the liberty pole on the night of January 17, 1770. The melee the followed, called the Battle of Golden Hill, resulted in the first bloodshed in the cause of American independence. Earle recalled, "the seizure of four red-coats by the patriots ended in a fight in the inn garden and the death of one patriot."
The Revolution forced the Gilford family to flee from 122 William Street. They returned in 1783 and shortly afterward erected another house next door at 124 William Street. Samuel Gilford died at 122 William Street in 1821. As late as 1827, one of the Gilfords' daughters, Elizabeth Gilford, was still listed in the house.
The Henry C. Mudge family occupied the upper floors of 122 William Street in 1829. The former tavern space was now occupied by Lewis J. Cohen's stationery shop. His advertisement in The Evening Post on October 25, 1836 listed items available in his "Staple and Fancy Imported Stationery" shop. It offered:
Lead Pencils various qualities, Whitman's drawing paper, Newman's Colours, English Letter and Note Paper, Tissue Paper Wafers, Government Sealing Wax, Writing Fluid, Bone Chessmen, Fancy Cards for Baskets, China Paint, Stones and Pallets, &c. &c.
By 1840, Samuel Mills ran his fur shop here. It was a short-lived venture and on March 15, 1843, his stock was sold at auction in a sheriff's sale. Included were, "fur muffs of all descriptions, tippets, capes, collars, boas, caps, buffalo robes, moccasins," and other items. The shop was next occupied by Court & Deschaux, a "Parisian dyeing establishment depot."
The New York Times, March 10, 1895 (copyright expired)
As mid-century neared, the venerable building was noticed by historians. A succinct, one-line article in The Evening Post on November 24, 1849 said, "The oldest house now extant in this city, it is believed, is that of 122 William street, it having been built 110 years ago."
By the time of the article, the upper floors had been converted for commercial use. In 1850, Charles Resch, a "law agent," had his office here. Benjamin Lawrence, an importer, was here as well, and John B. Stanton, a "goldbeater," operated from the rear building.
The early 1860s saw a tavern return to the ground floor. When the proprietor died in 1862, his widow liquidated the business. On March 18, she first advertised,
On account of death in my family, I am willing to sell an excellent horse, with carriage, &c., at a great bargain. The horse is suitable for a doctor, and was previously not to be purchased for any amount, as the qualifications of it are remarkable. -- A. M. Gies, widow, 122 William street.
The next month she advertised, "A large size cooking range" and "some bar fixtures" for sale.
The tavern was taken over by Francis Faivre's saloon and eatinghouse. He ran the operation until about 1876, when John Trejan was listed as proprietor.
By the first years of the 1890s, C. Raymond operated a French restaurant in the space. On February 14, 1892, he hired a Swiss-born cook, August Herds. The 3o-year-old had arrived in New York City in April 1891. Exactly a week after he began work here, on February 21, Herds said he was ill. He went to bed in a lodging house on the Bowery. Two days later he was no better and was admitted to Bellevue Hospital. The Sun reported on February 25, "He was delirious during the night, and Dr. O. O. Cooper, who saw him early yesterday, diagnosed his case as 'suspicious.'" The diagnosis was terrifying--typhus. Herds was transported to "the quarantined house" on North Brother Island.
On March 11, 1892, The Sun reported, "August Herds, the cook at 122 William street, who is supposed to have contracted the fever at 53 Bowery and was taken to the island two weeks ago, died early in the morning."
Within a year of the tragedy, Joseph Zeius opened the Century Coffee-House restaurant in the space. On December 16, 1893, The Evening World reported on his Christmas party for "the little waifs who, if it were not for natures as generous as that of Restauranteur Zeius, would pass the merry Yuletide with nothing to mark the joyous season." On Christmas Day, Zeius and his wife, Regina, opened the dining room to the newsboys who worked in the district. They boys would be treated to "sandwiches and cake and like goods things."
The article then turned to the structure's remarkable history.
The building occupied by the Century is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, on Manhattan Island. It was erected soon after 1692, and is built of narrow Dutch bricks brought over from Holland as ballast, and laid in an imperishable cement as hard to-day as the bricks themselves.
The writer noted the Battle of Golden Hill, pointing out that it took place "more than two months before the Boston massacre." During its history as a tavern and coffee house, said the article, "among its patrons [were] Gen. Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Baron Steuben, Gen. Putnam and other such illustrious men."
This photographs was taken on Christmas Day, 1876, from the collection of the New York Public Library
Starting in 1895, the Military and Naval Order used the Century Coffee-House for its meetings. On March 6, The Evening Post reported, "The first afternoon reception of the Military and Naval Order will be held to-day at 'The Century,' No. 122 William Street."
The event prompted The New York Times to recall, "The house, which has changed in appearance but little since it was first built, is owned by Thomas B. Gilford of Toms River, N. J., by whose ancestor, Samuel Gilford, it was purchased from its builders in 1773." The article noted, "As in most houses that were erected during the early days of New-York, 122 William Street has in the basement two of the famous Dutch ovens which were the house anchors and pride of the Knickerbockers." The "immense mantel" in the kitchen was inlaid with Dutch blue-and-white porcelain tiles about six inches square, "each tile containing some historic, religious, or secular event."
In the early years of the 20th century, historic structures were given little notice other than those related to Presidents and battles. But in an article in Pearson's Magazine in January 1913, Alfred Henry Lewis puzzled, "why some historical society has not yet taken title to the property, and arranged for its preservation as a revolutionary landmark." He suggested that if the Golden Hill Inn sat in Boston instead of New York, it would be preserved.
Alfred Henry Lewis's fears became reality six years later. On May 13, 1919, The Sun reported, "Another of New York's historic landmarks is shortly to be demolished in order to make way for a business structure." The New-York Tribune said, "Having stood its ground longer than any other structure now in New York, the yellow front brick building at 122 William Street must go the way many before have gone when progress demanded their space." It and the adjoining buildings at 124 and 126, all owned by the Gilford family for generations, had been leased by the estate of Thomas Gilford to make way for a four-story structure.
The new building, designed by J. D. Harrison, was completed later that year. On the ground floor, Williams and Biscotti opened the Ye Golden Hill Inn as a nod to the site's history. That building was demolished in 1958, replaced by a 23-story office structure.
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