The fine dining restaurant One If by Land, Two If by Sea in an elderly building in New York is said to be haunted by more than one ghost. Over the years, the workers have even tried to appease the ghost, even giving them food, but they still linger.
If you're a fan of history and fine dining, you've probably heard of One If by Land, Two If by Sea in Manhattan's West Village. Touting itself as one of the city's most romantic spots, this iconic restaurant has been a staple of New York's culinary scene for over forty years.
The name “One by land and two by sea” comes from a poem Paul Revere's Ride by Henry W. Longellow. This saying was a secret signal intended to warn patriots of the route British troops were taking to Concord, perhaps a clue to all the secrets and hidden passages the building at least once possessed. Because this elegant eatery has a dim and mysterious past.
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is said to be haunted by several ghosts, perhaps as many as twenty different ghosts. This includes the ghost of Aaron Burr's daughter, Theodosia, who mysteriously disappeared at sea. The restaurant's eerie atmosphere, complete with vintage chandeliers, flickering candles and dim wood paneling, only adds to its haunted reputation.
The story of one if on land, two if at sea
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is located in a historic building from 1767. Originally built as a coach house, it also served as a brothel, bar, and residence of several prominent New Yorkers. Some even believe that the strange passages leading to the shore were used to transport banned contraband, perhaps even during the Revolutionary War. It was also used to catch runaway slaves on the subways.
The building's storied past, which includes a coach house, still movie theater, bars and restaurants, is reflected in its architecture, which features vintage chandeliers, original brick walls and dim wood paneling. But it's not just the building's physical features that make it unique; they are also the ghosts that are said to haunt its halls.
Spooky encounters and haunted tales
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is said to be haunted by several ghosts, including the ghost of Aaron Burr and his daughter Theodosia. Theodosia was known for her beauty and intelligence, and her father, Aaron Burr, was one of the most controversial figures in American history.
In the 1790s, Aaron Burr kept his horses there while he was attorney general of New York State. Burr's wife, Theodosia Bartow Prevost, died early and he raised his daughter alone. His enemies claimed that the daughter and father were too close.
There were many rumors about their relationship being too intimate, with many claiming that the eminent duel between Burr and Alexander Hamilton started because of father-daughter rumors.
The two were rivals and tried to ruin each other's reputations for years. On July 11, 1804, a duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey. At the time, Burr was vice president of the United States and Hamilton was a war hero and the first American secretary of the treasury. In the duel, Hamilton was killed and Burr lost everything. His coach house was taken away and the building was used as a roundhouse for the nearby fire station.
So what happened to his daughter? Theodosia married her husband, Joseph Alston, a governor and one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in South Carolina, in 1801.
However, tragedy struck when Theodosia mysteriously disappeared at sea in 1813. After her father's fall, she lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and visited him on her ship, the Patriot. She had just lost her ten-year-old son to malaria and she was only 29 years elderly. The ship entered the fog near Cape Hatteras, one of North Carolina's barrier islands, and was never seen again.
Could her father's, or perhaps her husband's, enemies have done something? Were the destroyers luring the ship ashore to rob it and kill the crew? Was she attacked by pirates and was she forced to walk the plank? Or had he simply been carried away by the storm, as her father insisted until his death?
Her fate remains a mystery to this day, but many believe that she haunts the restaurant just like her father. He died in a Staten Island boarding house in 1836, and they are often seen together on the restaurant's mezzanine floor.
Burr's ghost is said to throw glasses and plates and move chairs. People claim to have seen his apparition – a powerful-looking man in period clothes.
Theodosia's ghost is said to walk up and down the stairs, and one of the restaurant's maître d' resigned after spotting her ghost. It is said that the earrings of women sitting in a bar disappear, which people blame on the ghost of Theodosia. This is said to have happened most often in the 1990s, and it seems like it's been a long time since anyone made that claim.
Other ghosts haunting the restaurant
The coach house was sold in the tardy 1890s and was used as a brothel and saloon as the area became a rapidly developing district. The building has several hidden passages leading to the Hudson River, making it an ideal place for tactful meetings.
The ghosts of Theodosia and her lover are not the only ghosts that haunt One If on Land, Two If on Sea. Guests and employees of the restaurant since it opened in 1973 have reported various ghost encounters over the years, including unexplained sounds, icy spots and the feeling of being watched. Some have even reported seeing women in period costumes who they believe are the ghosts of former residents or prostitutes working in the building.
We also see a woman dressed in black walking down the stairs. She was never seen climbing them, and some say there was a robust stench of sulfur coming from the stairs. Some media report that it was a woman who tripped over her dress and broke her neck falling down the stairs.
The Flo Ziefield Follies girl is said to haunt the Constitution Hall restaurant. The term “Ziegfeld Follies Girl” is widely used to describe the “singers, dancers and dancers” who performed in Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.'s Broadway stage productions from 1907 to 1930, known as the Ziegfeld Follies. It is said that the staff lights a candle for her spirit.
The blacksmith can be seen in the stairwells on the upper floors of the building where he lived. He was seen by an employee who worked there many years ago. Despite these spooky tales, One If by Land, Two If by Sea remains a popular destination for those who want to experience the restaurant's haunted history first-hand.
Spooky events in the restaurant
Lights flicker in restaurants, and some who came to eat say they were pushed by an unseen force. Strange and livid whispers of ghosts can be heard in the kitchen, wanting to throw them out of the room. Ghosts are said to linger around the fireplace and the front door. The sound of clinking glasses seemed to echo throughout the restaurant in the empty rooms.
According to Rosanne Martino, the restaurant's manager, pictures and paintings hanging on the restaurant's walls are also falling, and machines are malfunctioning and shutting down at odd times. At one point, the staff even tried to appease the ghosts by giving them some Beef Wellington.
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is more than just a restaurant; it's a piece of New York history. This iconic restaurant has a story to tell, from its haunted past to eminent guests and events.
Reference:
A – One if by land, two if by sea
Haunts in one if on land, two if at sea – Eater NY
One if by land, two if by sea, New York, NY | Haunted rooms in America
Wine, dine and spirits: one if by land, the other if by sea
Story – one on land, two at sea
Theodosia Burr Alston – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image Source: Pixabay.com
