City Tavern in Old City has been inactive for six years, but the garden behind the historic building will be a pop-up outdoor bar this summer. 

Historic Philadelphia will open the area behind 138 S. 2nd St. on Thursdays through Sundays starting June 25 as part of the celebrations honoring America's 250th birthday. Though it's since been knocked down and rebuilt, City Tavern was once the watering hole for Founding Fathers and colonial Philadelphia residents.

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"It is a beautiful space, it just needed some love and we're excited to be reactivating the space, the actual City Tavern hasn't been open since the pandemic," said Amy Needle, president and CEO of Historic Philadelphia. 

Catering company Cescaphe, which also works with Historic Philadelphia at Franklin Square, will supply sandwiches, charcuterie boards, wraps and other bites to the Garden at City Tavern, which the space is being called. 

Every afternoon, reenactors will visit the site in costume for toasts and colonial games, Needle said. Historic Philadelphia will also resume its Independence After Hours tour on Saturday nights, which will end with a stop at the garden.

Needle said organizers plan to keep the garden in operation through Labor Day (Sept. 7), but it's possible that it could stay open through the fall or return in 2027 if it's successful. 

City Tavern was founded in 1773 and was a frequent destination for prominent historic figures including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and John Adams. After spending the day debating at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, Needle said they would head to the bar to "continue to debate and drink, and enjoy their time." It was a favorite after-work spot during both the Second Continental Congress, which met for eight sessions from 1775 to 1781, and the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

The original tavern remained in operation until it was damaged in a fire in 1834 and then torn down in 1854. Its current iteration was rebuilt for the 1976 bicentennial, and three rooms have been restored to their original form. The most recent restaurant shuttered following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, although structural issues were also a growing problem ahead of the closure, the Inquirer reported.