Faneuil Hall
Encyclopedia
Faneuil Hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center
, in Boston
, Massachusetts
, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams
, James Otis
, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain
, and is now part of Boston National Historical Park
and a well-known stop on the Freedom Trail
. It is sometimes referred to as "the Cradle of Liberty".
. The ground floor was originally used to house African sheep brought over from the northwestern region of New Hampshire. The program was short lived however, due to a shortage of sheep and reasoning behind the program in the first place.
The grasshopper weather vane
is a well known symbol of Boston; see the section "Grasshopper weather vane," below. Knowledge of the grasshopper was used as a shibboleth
during the Revolution period. The people would ask suspected spies the identity of the object on the top of Faneuil Hall; if they answered correctly, then they were free; if not, they were convicted as British spies.
The hall burned down in 1761 but was rebuilt in 1762.
,,
and added to the National Register of Historic Places
a number of years later. The ground floor and basement were altered in 1979. The Hall was restored again in 1992.
, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which includes three long granite buildings called North Market, Quincy Market
, and South Market, and which now operates as an indoor/outdoor mall and food eatery. It was designed by Benjamin Thompson and Associates and managed by The Rouse Company
; its success in the late 1970s led to the emergence of similar marketplaces in other U.S. cities.
John Kerry
's concession speech in the 2004 presidential election
.
The Headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
has been in Faneuil Hall since 1746, currently on the 4th floor.
Faneuil Hall is the home of the Boston Classical Orchestra
, a professional orchestra, which has been performing in the "Great Hall" there regularly since 1980.
It is also still used for political debates between Massachusetts candidates as well as political shows, such as The O'Reilly Factor
.
over the course of a week and attaching a rope. Prior to this repair, the last known ringing of the bell with its clapper was at the end of World War II
, in 1945, though it had since been rung several times by striking with a mallet.
In 2008, Faneuil Hall was rated number 4 in America's 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites by Forbes Traveler.
The gilded grasshopper weather vane
on top of the building was created by Deacon Shem Drowne
in 1742. Gilded with gold leaf, the copper weather vane weighs eighty pounds and is four feet long. The weather vane is believed to be modeled after the grasshopper weather vane on the London Royal Exchange
, based upon the family crest of Thomas Gresham
.
Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Government Center is an area in downtown Boston, bounded by Cambridge, Court, Congress, and Sudbury Streets. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, two Suffolk County courthouses, two state office buildings, and two federal office buildings, a major MBTA...
, in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
, James Otis
James Otis, Jr.
James Otis, Jr. was a lawyer in colonial Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts provincial assembly, and an early advocate of the political views that led to the American Revolution. The phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny" is usually attributed to him...
, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, and is now part of Boston National Historical Park
Boston National Historical Park
The Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that showcase Boston's role in the American Revolution. It was designated a national park on October 1, 1974...
and a well-known stop on the Freedom Trail
Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a red path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts, that leads to 16 significant historic sites. It is a 2.5-mile walk from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Simple ground markers explaining events, graveyards, notable churches and other buildings, and a...
. It is sometimes referred to as "the Cradle of Liberty".
18th c.
The original Faneuil Hall was built by artist John Smibert in 1740–1742 in the style of an English country market, with an open ground floor and an assembly room above, and funded by a wealthy Boston merchant, Peter FaneuilPeter Faneuil
Peter Faneuil was a wealthy American colonial merchant, slave trader, and philanthropist who donated Faneuil Hall to Boston.-Childhood:...
. The ground floor was originally used to house African sheep brought over from the northwestern region of New Hampshire. The program was short lived however, due to a shortage of sheep and reasoning behind the program in the first place.
The grasshopper weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
is a well known symbol of Boston; see the section "Grasshopper weather vane," below. Knowledge of the grasshopper was used as a shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
during the Revolution period. The people would ask suspected spies the identity of the object on the top of Faneuil Hall; if they answered correctly, then they were free; if not, they were convicted as British spies.
,,
20th-21st c.
On October 9, 1960 the building was designated a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
a number of years later. The ground floor and basement were altered in 1979. The Hall was restored again in 1992.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Faneuil Hall is now part of a larger festival marketplaceFestival marketplace
A festival marketplace is a realization by James W. Rouse and the Rouse Company in the United States of an idea conceived by Benjamin C. Thompson of Benjamin Thompson and Associates for European style markets taking hold in the United States in an effort to revitalize downtown areas in major US...
, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which includes three long granite buildings called North Market, Quincy Market
Quincy Market
Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed 1824–1826 and named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt.-History:...
, and South Market, and which now operates as an indoor/outdoor mall and food eatery. It was designed by Benjamin Thompson and Associates and managed by The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties Inc...
; its success in the late 1970s led to the emergence of similar marketplaces in other U.S. cities.
Uses of Faneuil Hall
On November 6, 1979, Faneuil Hall was the site of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's speech declaring his candidacy for president. On November 3, 2004, Faneuil Hall was the site of SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
's concession speech in the 2004 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
.
The Headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world...
has been in Faneuil Hall since 1746, currently on the 4th floor.
Faneuil Hall is the home of the Boston Classical Orchestra
Boston Classical Orchestra
The Boston Classical Orchestra is a chamber orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1980 by the violinist Robert Brink. The orchestra's music director is Steven Lipsitt. It performs at Faneuil Hall....
, a professional orchestra, which has been performing in the "Great Hall" there regularly since 1980.
It is also still used for political debates between Massachusetts candidates as well as political shows, such as The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
.
Name
Though Faneuil is a French name, it is anglicized as ˈ or ˈ. There is some evidence that it was pronounced quite differently in Colonial times, as in funnel. Peter Faneuil's gravestone is marked "P. Funel," although the inscription was added long after his burial. (The stone originally displayed only the Faneuil family crest, not his surname.)Bell
The bell was repaired in 2007 by spraying the frozen clapper with WD-40WD-40
WD-40 is the trademark name of a United States-made water-displacing spray. It was developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical Company, San Diego, California. It was originally designed to repel water and prevent corrosion, and later was found to have numerous household...
over the course of a week and attaching a rope. Prior to this repair, the last known ringing of the bell with its clapper was at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1945, though it had since been rung several times by striking with a mallet.
In 2008, Faneuil Hall was rated number 4 in America's 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites by Forbes Traveler.
Grasshopper weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
on top of the building was created by Deacon Shem Drowne
Shem Drowne
Deacon Shem Drowne was a colonial coppersmith and tinplate worker in Boston, Massachusetts and was America's first documented weathervane maker. He is most famous for the grasshopper weathervane atop of Faneuil Hall, well known as a symbol of Boston.-Background:He was born near Sturgeon Creek in...
in 1742. Gilded with gold leaf, the copper weather vane weighs eighty pounds and is four feet long. The weather vane is believed to be modeled after the grasshopper weather vane on the London Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange (London)
The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and is trapezoidal, flanked by the converging streets of Cornhill and...
, based upon the family crest of Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
.
Timeline of events
- 1761 - Building burns down
- 1762 - Hall rebuilt
- 1773
- December 3 - Meeting about teaBoston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
lately arrived on the ship Eleanor; Capt. James Bruce, Samuel Adams, Jonathan Williams, and others present
- December 3 - Meeting about tea
- 1806 -- Building remodelled and expanded by Charles Bulfinch
- 1826
- Aug. 2 - Daniel WebsterDaniel WebsterDaniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
eulogizes John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
and Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
- Aug. 2 - Daniel Webster
- 1831
- July 11- Timothy FullerTimothy FullerTimothy Fuller was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.-Life and work:Fuller was born in Chilmark, Massachusetts. His father, Timothy, the first settled minister of Princeton, Mass., was third in descent, from Thomas, who emigrated from England in 1638...
speaks "at the request of the Suffolk Anti-Masonic Committee"
- July 11- Timothy Fuller
- 1834
- Sept. 6 - Edward EverettEdward EverettEdward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...
eulogizes Lafayette
- Sept. 6 - Edward Everett
- 1837
- Wendell PhillipsWendell PhillipsWendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
speaks - 1st Exhibition and Fair of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationMassachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationThe Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founding members included Paul Revere, Benjamin Russell, and others...
- Wendell Phillips
- 1839
- Peleg Sprague stumpsUnited States presidential election, 1840The United States presidential election of 1840 saw President Martin Van Buren fight for re-election against an economic depression and a Whig Party unified for the first time behind war hero William Henry Harrison and his "log cabin campaign"...
for candidate William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
- Peleg Sprague stumps
- 1843
- July 4 - Charles Francis Adams, Sr.Charles Francis Adams, Sr.Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....
speaks
- July 4 - Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
- 1848
- April 15 - Edward Everett eulogizes John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
- April 15 - Edward Everett eulogizes John Quincy Adams
- 1854
- May 26 - After arrest of Anthony BurnsAnthony BurnsAnthony Burns was born a slave in Stafford County, Virginia. As a young man, he became a Baptist and a "slave preacher"...
, public meeting "to secure justice for a man claimed as a slave by a Virginia kidnapper, and imprisoned in Boston Court House, in defiance of the laws of Massachusetts."
- May 26 - After arrest of Anthony Burns
- 1863
- April 18 - Andrew Jackson Hamilton "of Texas" speaks "at the war meeting"
- 1865
- Jan. 9 - Edward Everett speaks on "the relief of the suffering peopleSherman's March to the SeaSherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
of SavannahHistory of Savannah, GeorgiaThe city of Savannah, Georgia, the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia...
"
- Jan. 9 - Edward Everett speaks on "the relief of the suffering people
- 1876
- June 7 - Meeting "in favor of public parks;" Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
and others speak
- June 7 - Meeting "in favor of public parks;" Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
- 1878
- Aug. 1 - "Indignation meeting ... to protest against the injury done to the freedom of the press by the conviction and imprisonment of Ezra H. HeywoodEzra HeywoodEzra Heywood was a 19th century North American individualist anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist.-Philosophy:Heywood saw what he believed to be a disproportionate concentration of capital in the hands of a few as the result of a selective extension of government-backed privileges to...
"
- Aug. 1 - "Indignation meeting ... to protest against the injury done to the freedom of the press by the conviction and imprisonment of Ezra H. Heywood
- 1887
- Oct. 29 - Eben Norton HorsfordEben Norton HorsfordEben Norton Horsford was an American scientist who is best known for his reformulation of baking powder, his interest in Viking settlements in America, and the monuments he built to Leif Erikson.-Life and work:...
speaks on occasion of the unveiling of Anne WhitneyAnne WhitneyAnne Whitney was an American sculptor and poet. She was born in Watertown, Massachusetts on September 2, 1821 and died in Boston, Massachusetts on January 23, 1915.-Early years:...
's Leif EricsonLeif EricsonLeif Ericson was a Norse explorer who is regarded as the first European to land in North America , nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus...
statue (installed on Commonwealth Ave.Commonwealth Avenue, BostonCommonwealth Avenue is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill...
)
- Oct. 29 - Eben Norton Horsford
- 1903
- March 4 - Frederic J. StimsonFrederic Jesup StimsonFrederic Jesup Stimson was the United States Ambassador to Argentina 1915–1921. He was the first U.S. envoy to Argentina to hold the title Ambassador, the previous envoys having held the title Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary...
debates James F. Carey - March 19 - Protest "against the suppression of truth about the Philippines"
- March 4 - Frederic J. Stimson
- 1974 - Weathervane stolen, then returned
- 1992 - Building restored
External links
- Faneuil Hall Marketplace
- Faneuil Hall (City of Boston)
- Faneuil Hall (National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
) - (Official website of the Freedom Trail)
- Suffolk County listings (National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
) - Boston Classical Orchestra
- Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress. Includes 1937 photos.