The Dickson Tavern, or the Perry Memorial House, is the oldest building in the city of Erie

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Located at the corner of 2nd and French Streets in downtown Erie

Downtown Erie

Downtown Erie, is the central business, cultural and government center for the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.Erie’s Central Business District includes Gannon University, UPMC Hamot hospital, Erie Insurance, and city and county government offices, as well as other non-government related commercial...

, the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1990. The three-story, Federal

Federal architecture

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...

 and Greek Revival

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

-style building was constructed in 1815 by William Himrod

William Himrod

William Himrod was born on 19 May 1791 in Turbot Township, Pennsylvania and died 21 June 1873 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Himrod was a pioneer of the iron industry in Erie. He is interred at Erie Cemetery...

 and owned by John Dickson. It was acquired by the city of Erie in 1924. The Dickson Tavern was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey

Historic American Buildings Survey

The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...

 (HABS) in 1936.

Description

The Dickson Tavern is a three-story building on the corner of 2nd and French Streets, across the street from the UPMC Hamot medical center. The northern, original section the building is chacterized by a Federal architectural style with its evenly spaced windows. The southern, Greek Revival portion of tavern was constructed as part of an addition and lacks the symmetry of the original building.

History

John Dickson, a Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 native, arrived in Erie in 1808. During the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, Dickson became a prisoner-of-war. After the war, Dickson opened a hotel on French Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. He bought a plot of land on the corner of 2nd and French Streets where, a year later, William Himrod built a tavern. The tavern itself was named by Dickson the "Exchange Coffee House" to appeal to the higher class. Dickson was known for hosting outdoor banquet

Banquet

A banquet is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone....

s during the summer months. One such banquet, on June 9, 1825, was attended by the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited Erie on his return to the United States. Dickson moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...

 in 1829 and opened another establishment. He moved, again, to Pittsburgh two years later and sold the tavern in Erie for $1,800 ($ in dollars).
The tavern continued to be used as an eating establishment by various owners, until it was sold 1841. In 1841, an addition was made to the building and it was used as a residence until 1924. It was then acquired by the city and faced demolition. It was often alleged that the tunnels under the Dickson Tavern were part of the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

, but the claims have since been disputed. The building's interior was modified from 1928 to 1963 for use as a museum and became known as the Perry Memorial House. The museum was closed in 2004 and Dickson has since remained vacant. In November 2009, a local architectural firm bought the tavern and plans to renovate the building for use as its office.