What is now the Portsmouth, NH, steakhouse dubbed "Library Restaurant," used to be the Rockingham House. Built in 1785 the house actually never functioned as a library, that name comes from the cozy, book-filled interior of the contemporary restaurant. The property was originally a sprawling single-family mansion and has had many lives since then.
The Rockingham was first opened to the public in 1833 as a hotel. In 1884 it burnt nearly to the ground and the painstaking rebuilding and restoration cost more than entire operation of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Many of the details from that 1880s restoration are still evident in the structure today, including the hand carved paneling in Spanish mahogany and light fixtures encrusted with semi-precious stones, made by Shreve, Crump, and Low of Boston.
Perhaps the most famous event to take place at Rockingham House was the 1905 signing for the Russo-Japanese Treaty for the press.
Over the years the guest list at the restaurant and former hotel has included George Washington, Franklin Pierce, James K. Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Chester Arthur, William Taft, and John F. Kennedy. A pretty presidential pedigree if you ask us.
The library theme of the restaurant was introduced in 1975 and the culinary hotspot has been serving up classic dishes and cozy atmosphere ever since.
Diners can sit close to the roaring fire with a bottle of wine, or in the summer months, dine by the cool breeze from open windows. Choose from the setting of the formal dining room or the more casual lounge, styled after an English pub.
This historic building may never have technically operated as a library, but it's pretty cool to know you can order a steak in the same building where George Washington once spent the night.
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