 Faneuil Hall, also known as Quincy Market, has long been a focal point for Bostonians both as Boston’s meeting hall and its marketplace.
Wealthy French Huguenot merchant Peter Faneuil donated Faneuil Hall to Boston in 1742. The hall was built as a marketplace with the proviso of having a public meeting hall built on the upper level, and thus remains today: commerce below, politics upstairs.
It was here that the colonials first spoke out against British rule and debated the Sugar act and Stamp act, earning Faneuil Hall the title of ‘Cradle of Liberty’, ironic given that it was built on the proceeds of slavery.
Peter Faneuil’s wealth came from a vast fortune he inherited from his uncle, a prosperous slave trader. He left the money to Peter on one condition, that he remain a bachelor, which Peter happily did, naming one of his ships the Jolly Bachelor and dying of too much good living at the age of 43.
Faneuil Hall (pronounced ‘fannel’ or ‘funnel’) was enlarged in 1805 by Charles Bulfinch and in 1826 Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy had a new granite domed arcade built facing the hall, which became known as Quincy Market. Following extensive renovations in 1976, Quincy Marketplace became the emporia of modern chic clothing, specialist food stalls and venue for buskers and street entertainers that it is today, attracting some 18million people each year.
The upper hall still operates as a meeting hall and throughout the decades political debates on subjects such as the abolition of slavery and female suffrage have taken place here. The hall is open daily and tours run every 30 minutes, here you’ll find regimental memorabilia of the Ancient & Honourable Artillery Company, America’s first and oldest militia and a life-size portrait of Daniel Webster speaking before the US Senate.
Above the hall stands the famous Grasshopper weathervane, rumours abound as to why a grasshopper was chosen, but it has become something of a Boston icon and over the years it has survived fires and earthquakes.
Outside Faneuil Hall stands the New England Holocaust Memorial, comprising six glass towers reaching up to the heavens etched with six million numbers, recalling the six Nazi death camps and remembering the six millions Jews who died there.
Location:
Faneuil Hall Market Place, Boston. Take the Green or Blue lines to Government Center stop or the Orange Line to State Street stop.
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