With
everything happening around us right now, specifically as it relates
to events and gatherings being cancelled, I often find myself
thinking about how long many of them have been taking place. I
also marvel at some of the things they’ve managed to continue
taking place during.
Consider
town, regional, and state fairs. Many have been held for hundreds
of years. Some of them continuously through some devasting years.
World wars. Natural disasters. All sorts of things.
Often,
a common element in why these events were able to continue at
all appears to be built on great things. A sense of community,
a respect for tradition, and the amazing way people can come together
for the right causes.
Without
wandering too far down that path… I’m not trying to write an essay
about the brilliance of your neighbors and the warmth of community,
though that might not be a bad idea for next time… I was wondering
about some of the longest running this and longest continuously
held that. Thought it might be worth presenting a few for your
consideration.
Ready?
Cool.
Here we go…
The
oldest restaurant in the United States is the White Horse Tavern.
Want to guess where it is? Yup… Rhode Island. Opened in 1673,
it just so happens to also qualify as the oldest bar and tavern
in America. The amazing thing is, even though many sources list
it as the oldest “restaurant” in the United States, the oldest
restaurant in the world is generally regarded and accepted as
being…
Sobrino
de Botin in Madrid. Why would this create an interesting idea?
Because this restaurant in Spain is given an opening date of 1725…
and if you haven’t already done the math, that’s 52 years after
the White Horse was established. Another interesting claim about
the place is that the fire inside the oven has been burning continuously
since it opened.
(As
a side note, I have tried to find out why the White Horse Tavern
doesn’t take the title, and it appears that two possibilities
exist as the most likely reasons, but neither is specifically
acknowledged as the reason. First, some people credit its history
to that of being a tavern and bar more than a restaurant when
it opened. In short, you can’t be a three hundred and fifty year
old restaurant if you haven’t been open as a restaurant for three
hundred and fifty years. And if that wants to be defended, it
kind of makes sense. I happen to like a second option a bit more.
British forces took over the location during the Revolutionary
War. Over roughly four years, owner Walter Nichols was forced
to abandon Newport and the property during the British occupation.
End result… you can’t be a continuously operating restaurant when
you aren’t continuously operating. And, that roughly 1776-1779
date of the Revolutionary War under new management time frame
does come after the 1725 opening of Botin’s. Again though, neither
of these, nor any other I’ve found, makes any specific reference
to why a place opening its door in 1673 doesn’t top a place that
started in 1725.)
The
oldest continuously operating theater in the United States is
the Walnut Street Theatre. This place has been running in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, since 1809.
When
it comes to the world, the date is 1585 for The Teatro Olimpico.
This site in Vincenza, Italy, delivered it’s first performance
about four hundred and thirty-five years ago.
When
it comes to buildings, it depends a bit on how you define a structure.
That said, predating Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, the Megalithic
Temples of Malta are regularly cited as the oldest structure still
existing in the world. Most sources give the Megalithic Temples
an origin date in 3600 BC.
When
it comes to known ruins, the age goes back significantly further.
The Wall and Tower of Jericho? Attributed to about 8000 BC. Gobekli
Tepe makes a claim by being dated as far back as 9500 BC. And
yet for our winner, in Greece, there is the Stone Wall at Theopetra
Cave. The structure there is given a date of 21000 BC.
Founded
in 1752, the Tiergarten Schonbrunn—or Vienne Zoo in Austria—is
considered the oldest continuously operating zoo in the world.
For America, the Philadelphia Zoo currently holds the distinction.
This is widely recognized as the first zoo established in the
United States, with an opening in 1874.
A
few breweries claim to be the oldest in the world, and there is
some debate. One thing is known, if you want to make your own
claim, you’ll need documentation going back about a thousand years.
In Bavaria, the Weihenstephan Abbey obtained a license for the
Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan from the city of Freising
in 1040. Perhaps incredibly, the abbey also documents a garden
of hops in the area around 768.
Want
the details on the oldest sandwich? Might not surprise you to
know that the hamburger is often cited as the oldest sandwich,
or effectively meat served between two pieces of bread. What might
be the surprising part is likely that the roujiamo, with ingredients
going back to just a bit before 200 BC, comes from China. And,
yes, there are many other cultures that can direct our attention
to the use of bread with something else over the centuries.
With
those nods appropriately in place, the sandwich most commonly
getting the claim as recognizable for us is indeed from the Earl
of Sandwich, John Montagu, around the year of 1762. Legend is
he didn’t want to leave his gambling, and created a handheld food
he could consume while placing his bets at a table.
All
of this is just a start. We could head to any search engine and
examine dates and stories. Just a matter of asking for the oldest
this or that, and letting this or that be anything that strikes
your interests. And honestly, if you get a chance, you should.
The history of breweries and zoos and sandwiches can be pretty
interesting if you just take a moment to look for them.