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FAMOUS COFFEE HOUSES.

Famous Coffee Houses Cafe Florian Lloyds Coffee House Cafe Florian Lloyds Coffee House

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Lloyds Coffee House

Location : London Built In : 1668

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Edward Lloyd opened one of the world's most famous coffee houses in London in 1668 on Tower Street.

It was such a business hub, it eventually became the still-operating Lloyd's of London insurance company. The coffee house became a meeting place for merchants, ship owners, ship captains, insurance brokers and others involved in overseas trade. As so many of his customers came to hear the latest business news, Lloyd began publishing the news in his own newsletter and he was soon making more money from this than from the coffee he was selling. Insurance brokers began meeting clients at

the coffee house and even rented booths to conduct business. By 1774, after Lloyd's death, the coffee house had become a corporation owned by brokers and it is now one of the most famous insurance companies

Cafe Florian

Location : Venice Built In : 1644

Caffe Florian is the most famous Italian coffee house and is still open today on the Piazza San Marco, shadowed by the Campanile (the famous bell tower of Venice).

The coffee house was opened in December,1720 by Floriano Francesconi under the arcades of the Procurative Nuove using the name ‘Venezia Trionfante’ at the time, but was later renamed Caffe Florian after it’s founder. With two hundred and eighty seven years of coffee service it is thought to be one of the worlds largest continuing coffee houses and is a symbol of the city.

Many of the features of the coffee house today, such as the paintings, wood carvings and ornate mirrors

come from the refurbishment in 1859. Caffe Florian is also home to the Venice Biennale, an exhibition of contemporary art that has been running since 1893. There are many famous patrons such as Charles Dickens and Venice born womanizer Giovanni Giacomo Casanova.

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The Old Tontine Coffee House

Location : New York City Built In : 1793

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The Old Tontine Coffee House is one of the most historic in the USA and was established in 1793.

It was located at the northwest corner of Wall and Water Streets.

In it’s prime the coffee house was amongst New York City’s busiest centres for the buying and selling of stocks and other wares, for business dealings and discussion and political transactions. It was built by a group of stockbrokers to serve as a meeting place for trade and correspondence and it was the location where the New York Stock Exchange was organized. Adding to this, which is the largest reason this coffee house has such a heritage, The Old Tontine Coffee House had a dual function as a combination club and a

meeting room and consequently the coffee house played host to many auctions, banquets and balls, among others.

Cafe Le Procope

Location : Paris Built In : 1686

Café Le Procope is thought to be the first true coffee house in Paris and the oldest restaurant in the city. It is located at the heart of the famous Quartier Latin and is still trading today. It was opened in 1686

by Sicillian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a former lemonade vendor, on a street which was then known as rue des Fosses-Saint-Germaindes-Pres. The coffee house faces the Theatre Francais, where it previously drew a clientele of artists and actors and consequently became known as the ‘theatrical’ coffee house, although it was only for gentlemen at the time. Today the coffee house sits on the rue de l’Ancienne Comedie.

Through the eighteenth century the Procope became known as a

meeting point for the intellectual.

Café Le Procope also holds some claim to be the birthplace of the Encyclopédie, the first modern encyclopedia. Although closing it’s doors for a period of time in the late 1800’s it today remains a historical landmark of Paris.

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