s to a conference held in the "New
Coffee House." About this date the business section of the city had
begun to drift eastward from Broadway to the waterfront; and from this
fact it is assumed that the name "New Coffee House" indicates that the
King's Arms had been removed from its original location near Cedar
Street, or that it may have lost favor and have been superseded in
popularity by a newer coffee house. The _Journal_ does not give the
location of the "New" coffee house. Whatever the case may be, the name
of the King's Arms does not again appear in the records until 1763, and
then it had more the character of a tavern, or roadhouse.

The public records from 1709 up to 1729 are silent in regard to coffee
houses in New York. In 1725 the pioneer newspaper in the city, the _New
York Gazette_, came into existence; and four years later, 1729, there
appeared in it an advertisement stating that "a competent bookkeeper may
be heard of" at the "Coffee House." In 1730 another advertisement in the
same journal tells of a sale of land by public vendue (auction) to be
held at the Exchange coffee house.

_The Exchange Coffee House_

By reason of its name, the Exchange Coffee House is thought to have been
located at the foot of Broad Street, abutting the sea-wall and near the
Long Bridge of that day. At that time this section was the business
center of the city, and here was a trading exchange.

That the Exchange coffee house was the only one of its kind in New York
in 1732 is inferred from the announcement in that year of a meeting of
the conference committee of the Council and Assembly "at the Coffee
House." In seeming confirmation of this conclusion, is the advertisement
in 1733 in the _New York Gazette_ requesting the return of "lost sleeve
buttons to Mr. Todd, next door to the Coffee House." The records of the
day show that a Robert Todd kept the famous Black Horse tavern which was
located in this part of the city.

Again we hear of the Exchange coffee house in 1737, and apparently in
the same location, where it is mentioned in an account of the "Negro
plot" as being next door to the Fighting Cocks tavern by the Long
Bridge, at the foot of Broad Street. Also in this same year it is named
as the place of public vendue of land situated on Broadway.

By this time the Exchange coffee house had virtually become the city's
official auction room, as well as the place to buy and to drink coffee.
Commodities of many kinds we