As a meeting place for societies and lodges the Merchants coffee house was long distinguished. In addition to the purely commercial organizations that gathered in its long room, these bodies regularly met there in their early days: The Society of Arts, Agriculture and Economy; Knights of Corsica; New York Committee of Correspondence; New York Marine Society; Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York; Lodge 169, Free and Accepted Masons; Whig Society; Society of the New York Hospital; St. Andrew's Society; Society of the Cincinnati; Society of the Sons of St. Patrick; Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves; Society for the Relief of Distressed Debtors; Black Friars Society; Independent Rangers; and Federal Republicans. Here also came the men who, in 1784, formed the Bank of New York, the first financial institution in the city; and here was held, in 1790, the first public sale of stocks by sworn brokers. Here, too, was held the organization meeting of subscribers to the Tontine coffee house, which in a few years was to prove a worthy rival. _Some Lesser Known Coffee Houses_ Before taking up the story of the famous Tontine coffee house it should be noted that the Merchants coffee house had some prior measure of competition. For four years the Exchange coffee room sought to cater to the wants of the merchants around the foot of Broad Street. It was located in the Royal Exchange, which had been erected in 1752 in place of the old Exchange, and until 1754 had been used as a store. Then William Keen and Alexander Lightfoot got control and started their coffee room, with a ball room attached. The partnership split up in 1756, Lightfoot continuing operations until he died the next year, when his widow tried to carry it on. In 1758 it had reverted into its original character of a mercantile establishment. [Illustration: THE TONTINE COFFEE HOUSE (SECOND BUILDING AT THE LEFT), OPENED IN 1792 This is the original structure, northwest corner of Wall and Water Streets, which was succeeded about 1850 by a five-story building (see page 122) that in turn was replaced by a modern office building] Then there was the Whitehall coffee house, which two men, named Rogers and Humphreys, opened in 1762, with the announcement that "a correspondence is settled in London and Bristol to remit by every opportunity all the public prints and pamphlets as soon as published; and there will be a weekly supply of New York, Boston and other American newspapers." This enterprise had a short life. The early records of the city infrequently mention the Burns coffee house, sometimes calling it a tavern. It is likely that the place was more an inn than a coffee house. It was kept for a number of years by George Burns, near the Battery, and was located in the historic old De Lancey house, which afterward became the City hotel.