Group breaks ground on new Tun Tavern, birthplace of the Marine Corps

On Sunday, Marine veteran Patrick Dailey will shovel dirt at a site in Philadelphia where his nonprofit group plans to build a replica of the birthplace of the Marine Corps – Tun Tavern.

The groundbreaking is a ceremonial step toward Dailey’s dream of seeing Marines hoist tankards of ale there by the 250th Marine Corps Birthday in 2025, if his group can raise $8 million in the coming months,

Such a place would bring Marines to a replica of their birthplace.

Capt. Samuel Nicholas started the Marines at Tun Tavern on Nov. 10, 1775 when he signed up the first volunteers who began a legacy that would later include Iwo Jima, Chosin, Hue and Fallujah, along with nicknames such as “Devil Dog” and “Leatherneck.”

Tun Tavern is also purportedly the location where John Adams and the Naval Committee met in 1775 to write the documents structuring what would become the U.S. Navy, according to foundation research.

Once operational, proceeds from the new Tun Tavern and restaurant will go to charities connected to the organizations with connections to Tun Tavern, Dailey said.

About a decade ago Dailey was at Cookie’s Tavern in Philadelphia where, for years, the owner, a Marine Vietnam Veteran, hosted a street party for the Marine Corps Birthday that saw 2,000 to 3,000 people show up to a hole-in-the-wall bar that could seat maybe a dozen drinkers.

Tun Tavern, traditional birthplace of the Marine Corps, set to get rebuilt

Dailey thought, if thousands of Marines travel from all over the country on their birthday to this bar, what would they do if Philly had a Tun Tavern of its own?

That thought led Dailey to form the nonprofit Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation, naming the future location “The Tun,” which will be a replica of the tavern serving drinks, with an adjacent building called “Peg Mulligan’s Red Hot Beefsteak Club” serving food common to the 1700s-era of the Tun’s history.

The site is at 19 South 2nd Street in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood, about 250 yards from the original Tun Tavern site.

The project also has the support of a key figure in Marine circles, President and CEO of the Marine Corps Association retired Lt. Gen. Charles Chiarotti, who said previously that a new Tun Tavern would mean that “Marines of past, present and future will have their rightful gathering spot in the very city where the Marine Corps was formed.”

Dailey grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, driving a truck for his father’s business down near the Delaware River, not far from the original home of Tun Tavern.

But he didn’t learn of the famed drinking spot and its place in Corps lore until 1981, when a barrel-chested gunnery sergeant spit out Marine Corps history and facts as Dailey huffed through the early weeks of Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

He’d never heard of the place in all his years near Philly.

“I thought, ‘this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’” Dailey told Marine Corps Times. “But you don’t correct a gunnery sergeant in Officer Candidate School.”

Dailey would go on to serve in 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the 3rd Marine Division from 1981 to 1985 before rejoining civilian life. The former officer worked a nearly 40-year career in accounting and pharmaceuticals and along the way got involved with Marine and community-centered nonprofits.

For the past 20 years, he’s run a small Japanese restaurant and market location in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, less than 10 miles from Philadelphia.

Dailey and his partners, including Rob Brink, the foundation’s board chair and deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Free and Accepted Masons, acquired the land first. They’ve since received all the proper zoning, permits and permissions from the city to begin building once they’ve raised nearly $12 million.

That’s a little more than half of the total price tag of $21 million. The foundation has so far raised $6.5 million. If they’re able to get an additional $8 million, then they can begin construction, Dailey said.

The foundation has received that money from board members and private donations from individuals, federal and state grants. Dailey said he hopes a corporate sponsor with links to the Marine Corps might assist with a larger donation.

The foundation recently received a $1 million challenge grant from a Marine veteran and anonymous donor who will contribute $500,000 once the challenge reaches $1 million and another $500,000 when the challenge reaches $4.5 million, according to the foundation website.

The freemason partnership on the board has its own history.

Historical records show Tun Tavern was first granted its business license in 1686, likely opened for operation as a brewery that served beer to patrons in 1693, Dailey said.

The establishment was likely the first bar that visitors saw when they got off their boats on the Delaware River, the main waterway for ship traffic to Philadelphia.

Taverns in colonial times were centers of commerce, politics, community events and more.

The tavern is the birthplace of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, Dailey said. The St. George, St. Andrew and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick societies were founded or held meetings in the tavern, according to the foundation.