According to historical references, pubs were called taverns back in Colonial America. Most of them doubled as roadhouses and/or Inns to shelter travelers. In fact the story goes that many Colonial taverns were hotbeds for plotting the revolution against British rule. There are still many taverns and inns operating in America, some of which have been in business since the 18th century. Of course fewer of the genuine old inns/taverns are left, since some of them close nearly every year. The classic tavern in my childhood home area (The King George Inn in Allentown, Pennsylvania) closed a few years ago has been demolished.
I have actually created an homage to these places in my main Kitely world. Donnybrook Beach is intended to replicate a mid-Atlantic beach resort that grew out of an old Colonial fishing village. So the oldest remaining building in the town is the Lord Baltimore Inn, an early 19th century Inn/tavern that has been operating under its current name since 1877. Today it has a very upscale steak and seafood restaurant on the first floor, whereas the second floor (which used to be rooms for rent to travelers) has been opened up into the "Ark and Dove Tavern", which is a bar, extension of the restaurant and is also an upscale banquet facility. (The ground floor rooms are too small to hold more than 2-3 tables seating no more than 12 people.) BTW,
Ark and
Dove were the names of the first two ships that were sent to colonize what is now the state of Maryland.
My Donnybrook Beach world has divergent design concepts - I want it to be as historically accurate and realistic as possible to represent the type of town being simulated. But I also hide little jokes around the place for those who take the time to look for them. Just as one example, the pastor of the local church is listed as "Fr. Guido Sarducci", which is of course a reference to an old Saturday Night Live character.
The Lord Baltimore Inn is located just northeast of the main arrival point of Donnybrook Beach. It is just east of the town fishing harbor.
http://www.kitely.com/virtual-world/Deu ... rook-Beach
Much of Donnybrook Beach is still under construction. The Lord Baltimore Inn is mostly complete inside, although it still needs more exterior landscaping.
