It’s a tavern! It’s a museum! It’s a restaurant, too. But whether you go for a pint of ale, fish and chips, or history, entering this structure is like stepping back in time to pre-Revolutionary New York.

When tavern-keeper Samuel Fraunces purchased the building in 1762, the city had a population of 13,000. It was here, in the second-floor Long Room, that General George Washington formally ended the American Revolution when the British evacuated New York. Across the hall, another period room named for the first governor of New York State, George Clinton, features French hand-printed woodblock wallpaper from 1834. A short video explains further history of the site. The third floor is devoted to The Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, the organization that purchased and preserved the building in the early 20th century.

Favorite feature: The Long Room, where we learned that 18th-century guests paid not only for food and drinks, but also for the candles used to light the room and any broken dishes.

54 Pearl St., 212-425-1778, frauncestavernmuseum.org. Monday-Saturday noon-5 p.m. Adults $4, students/seniors $3, under 6 free.