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{{Short description|United States historic place in Boston, MA (opened 1743)}}

factoids

| area =| built = 1742| architect = John Smibert; Charles BulfinchGeorgian architecture>Georgian| designated_nrhp_type = October 9, 1960| added = October 15, 19662007a}}}}Faneuil Hall ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|n|j|əl}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|n|əl}}; previously {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ʌ|n|əl}}) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742,WEB,weblink The History of Faneuil Hall | Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 25 August 2017, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain. It 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,"WEB,weblink Faneuil Hall Boston, The Cradle Of Liberty, www.celebrateboston.com, 30 May 2018, though the building and location have ties to slavery.WEB,weblink Unearthing Boston's Past – The Daily Free Press, dailyfreepress.com, 5 October 2010, 30 May 2018, In 2008, Faneuil Hall was rated number 4 in "America's 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites" by Forbes Traveler.NEWS ,

History

Eighteenth century

After the project of erecting a public market house in Boston had been discussed for some years, colonial merchant and slave trader Peter Faneuil offered, at a public meeting in 1740, to build a suitable edifice at his own cost as a gift to the town. {{clarify span|text=There was a strong opposition to market houses,|reason=What opposition, from whom, and why? What was wrong with a "market house"?|date=December 2023}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} and although a vote of thanks was passed unanimously, his offer was accepted by a majority of only seven (367 to 360). Funded in part by profits from slave trading,WEB,weblink Was Faneuil Hall Built with Slave Money?, 13 March 2012, 30 May 2018, the building was begun in Dock Square in September of the same year.{{Appletons'|wstitle=Faneuil, Peter|year=1900|inline=1}} It was built by artist John Smibert in 1740–1742 in the style of an English country market, with an open ground floor serving as the market house, and an assembly room above. According to Sean Hennessey, a National Park Service spokesman, some of Boston's early slave auctions took place near Faneuil Hall.WEB,weblink Unearthing Boston?s Past – The Daily Free Press, dailyfreepress.com, 5 October 2010, 30 May 2018, In 1761, the hall was destroyed by fire, with nothing but the brick walls remaining. It was rebuilt by the town in 1762. In 1775, during the British occupation of Boston, it was used for a theatre.(File:Faneuilhall104.JPG|thumb|left|Faneuil Hall in 1830|267px)

Nineteenth century

In 1806, the hall was greatly expanded by Charles Bulfinch, doubling its height and width and adding a third floor. Four new bays were added, to make seven in all. The open arcades were enclosed, and the cupola was moved to the opposite end of the building. Bulfinch applied Doric brick pilasters to the lower two floors, with Ionic pilasters on the third floor. This renovation added galleries around the assembly hall and increased its height. Faneuil Hall was used for town meetings until 1822.WEB, 2019-09-20, Faneuil Hall History {{!, Boston Freedom Trail History|url=https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/faneuil-hall|access-date=2021-11-01|website=Boston Tea Party Ships|language=en-US}} Neighboring Quincy Market was constructed between 1824 and 1826.Abolitionists met at the hall in the 1830s and formed the Committee of Vigilance and Safety to "take all measures that they shall deem expedient to protect the colored people of this city in the enjoyment of their lives and liberties."WEB,weblink Faneuil Hall, the Underground Railroad, and the Boston Vigilance Committees (U.S. National Park Service), Faneuil Hall was entirely rebuilt of noncombustible materials in 1898–1899.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Twentieth and twenty-first centuries

On October 9, 1960, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places following the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which placed all National Historic Landmarks in the National Register.{{Citation |last=National Park Service |title=Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State |date=n.d. |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/designations/Lists/MA01.pdf |access-date=2010-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104225304weblink |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-11-04 |via=nps.gov |mode=cs1}} The ground floor and basement were altered in 1979. The Hall was restored again in 1992, and in 1994 the building was designatedREPORT,weblink Faneuil Hall, Boston Landmarks Commission, 2017-12-27,weblink 2017-12-28, dead, a local Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.The headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is located on the fourth floor and includes an armory, library, offices, quartermaster department, commissary, and a military museum with free admission.(File:Faneuil Hall LOC 4a30408u.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Faneuil Hall, photograph dated 1903)

Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Faneuil Hall is owned by the city of Boston, as is Quincy Market (commonly referred to as Faneuil Hall Marketplace), which includes three historic granite buildings—North Market, Quincy Market, and South Market—to the east of Faneuil Hall that operate as an indoor/outdoor mall and food eatery. The architect for the 1976 refurbishment and repositioning of Quincy Market was 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. It has since come under the ownership of the Ashkenazy Corp.Faneuil Hall is not part of the festival marketplace known as Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Rather it is owned by the City of Boston and managed by the National Park Service.The North and South Markets buildings are currently under study for landmark status by the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Uses

On Friday in early August 1890, one of the first black Republican legislators of Boston, Julius Caesar Chappelle, made a speech "At the Cradle of Liberty" in support of the Federal Elections bill that would help give Black people the right to vote. Chappelle was a Boston legislator from 1883 to 1886. The Faneuil Hall event was covered by the media in the United States, and the speech by Chappelle appeared in an August 9, 1890, article, "At the Cradle of Liberty, Enthusiastic Endorsement of the Elections Bill, Faneuil Hall again Filled with Liberty Loving Bostonians to Urge a Free Ballot and Fare Count" on the front page of The New York Age newspaper on Saturday, August 9, 1890."At the Cradle of Liberty", The New York Age, front page, Saturday August 9, 1890.On November 7, 1979, Faneuil Hall was the site of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's speech declaring his candidacy for president.WEB,weblink PBS Carter Administration Timelilne, PBS, 30 May 2018, 22 February 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170222103917weblink">weblink dead, On November 3, 2004, Faneuil Hall was the site of Senator John Kerry's concession speech in the 2004 presidential election.On April 11, 2006, Governor Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts' health care bill into law with a fife and drum band in Faneuil Hall before 300 ticketed guests.NEWS,weblink The New York Times, Pam, Belluck, Katie, Zezima, Massachusetts Legislation on Insurance Becomes Law, April 13, 2006, On October 30, 2013, President Barack Obama delivered a defense of the Affordable Care Act from the same spot where Romney signed his state's expansion of healthcare in 2006.WEB,weblink President Obama heading to Boston on Wednesday for health care speech, The Boston Globe, May 30, 2018, August 25, 2018,weblink dead, On November 2, 2014, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino lay in state in Faneuil Hall following his death on October 30, 2014.WEB,weblink Thousands say goodbye to Menino, The Boston Globe, May 30, 2018, The headquarters of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts has been in Faneuil Hall since 1746, currently on the 4th floor.It is also still used for political debates between Massachusetts candidates as well as political shows, such as The O'Reilly Factor.

Name

Faneuil is a French name, and is anglicized as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|n|əl}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|æ|n|j|əl}} (rhyming with panel or Daniel). During the colonial era, it may have been pronounced as in funnel. At Peter Faneuil's burial, only the Faneuil family crest was displayed on his headstone; its current inscription of "P. Funel" was added much later.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In his 1825 novel Lionel Lincoln, James Fenimore Cooper used eye dialect for Bostonian characters to indicate that they pronounced it Funnel Hall.WEB,weblink Lionel Lincoln : or, The leaguer of Boston, James Fenimore, Cooper, New York : Lovell, Coryell, 30 May 2018, Internet Archive, Boston area locals often use the term Faneuil to refer to the entire surrounding neighborhood, particularly as a landmark for its vibrant nightlife.WEB,weblink Faneuil Hall: Everything you need to know, Zander, Amy, 16 August 2016, 2 August 2018, Maverick Empire, In August 2017, amid heightened media coverage of the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, the activist group New Democracy Coalition proposed that Faneuil Hall's name be changed because of Peter Faneuil's participation in the slave trade.WEB,weblink Group calls for Faneuil Hall to be renamed, Michelle, Gere, 17 August 2017, 30 May 2018, In response to the proposal, Boston mayor Marty Walsh stated: "We are not going to change the name of Faneuil Hall".WEB,weblink Marty Walsh has a confession to make, The Boston Globe, August 1, 2018, Additional name change protests have followed, including activists chaining themselves to the front door and a sit-in.WEB, Activists chain themselves to Faneuil Hall in protest of its slaveholding namesake,weblink 2023-01-26, www.wbur.org, 19 October 2022, en, WEB, McDonald, Danny, 12 January 2023, At City Hall, a sit-in to protest the name of a Boston landmark - The Boston Globe,weblink 2023-01-26, BostonGlobe.com, en-US,

Building elements

Bell

After a sixty-two year hiatus, the hall's bell began ringing again in 2007 when a stuck clapper was freed and lubricated and new bellrope attached to the bell. Its last known ringing with its clapper had been at the end of World War II in 1945 (though it had been rung several times after that with a mallet).NEWS

Grasshopper weather vane

The gilded grasshopper weather vane on top of the building was created by Deacon Shem Drowne in 1742. Gilded with gold leaf, it weighs {{convert|80|lb}}, is {{convert|4|ft}} long,NEWS, January 6, 1974, Grasshopper Weather Vane on Faneuil Hall Is Stolen, 54, New York Times, and is believed to be modeled after that of the London Royal Exchange, itself based upon the family crest of Thomas Gresham.WEB, Faneuil Hall Grasshopper,weblink Celebrate Boston, 2008-12-27, NEWS, February 26, 1996, Playing Tourist At Home,weblink Tania, Unsworth, New York Times, 2008-12-27, File:Faneuil_Hall,_Boston,_exterior.jpg|thumb|Samuel Adams, described on the 1880 statue by (Anne Whitney]] at Faneuil Hall as "A Statesman: Incorruptible and Fearless")

Public art and landscape artwork

The area between the eastern end of Faneuil Hall and Congress Street is part of Boston National Historical Park. In this landscape is a nineteenth-century sculpture of Samuel AdamsWEB,weblink Samuel Adams Statue at Faneuil Hall Boston, www.celebrateboston.com, 30 May 2018, created by sculptor Anne Whitney. The granite plaza surface is marked for {{convert|850|ft|m}} with the approximate location of the early colonial shoreline c. 1630. The street layout and building plot plan designations from an 1820 map are shown by etched dashed lines and changes from pink granite to grey granite paving slabs. The shoreline marking artwork entitled, A Once and Future Shoreline, is made with etched silhouettes of seaweed, sea grass, fish, shells and other materials found along a high tide line.WEB,weblink CultureNOW - A Once and Future Shoreline ({{not a typo, orig, nal [sic], shoreline c. 1630): Ross Miller, Boston Art Commission and Boston Landmarks Commission|website=culturenow.org|access-date=30 May 2018}}Art within Faneuil Hall includes many paintings and sculpture busts of Revolutionary War activists, pre Civil War abolitionists, and political leaders.WEB,weblink Art in Faneuil Hall, Boston National Historical Park Brochure, 30 May 2018,

Timeline of events

• 1761 – Hall burned down.
• 1762 – Hall rebuilt.
• 1767 – October 28: Petition to boycott imported goods signed.WEB,weblink 11 July 2013, Houghton Library Blog, Harvard University, 13 May 2015, 8 November 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151108165736weblink">weblink dead,
• 1768 – Faneuil Hall is briefly used to quarter the newly arrived 14th Regiment during the occupation of Boston.
• 1773 – December 3: Meeting about tea lately arrived on the ship Eleanor; Capt. James Bruce, Samuel Adams, Jonathan Williams, and others presentSnow. History of Boston. 1828; p.293-294
• 1806 – Building remodelled and expanded by Charles Bulfinch
• August 2, 1826 – Daniel Webster eulogizes John Adams and Thomas JeffersonDaniel Webster. A discourse in commemoration of the lives and services of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826. Boston: Cummings, Hilliard, and Company, 1826
• July 11, 1831 – Timothy Fuller speaks "at the request of the Suffolk Anti-Masonic Committee"Timothy Fuller. An oration, delivered at Faneuil Hall, Boston, July 11, 1831: at the request of the Suffolk Anti-Masonic Committee. 1831
• September 6, 1834 – Edward Everett eulogizes LafayetteEdward Everett. Eulogy on Lafayette: delivered in Faneuil hall, at the request of the young men of Boston, September 6, 1834. Boston: N. Hale, 1834
• 1837
  • Wendell Phillips speaksThe freedom speech of Wendell Phillips: Faneuil Hall, December 8, 1837, with descriptive letters from eye witnesses. Boston: Wendell Phillips Hall Association, 1890
  • 1st Exhibition and Fair of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationFirst Exhibition and Fair of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. 1837
• 1839 – Peleg Sprague stumps for candidate William Henry HarrisonRemarks of the Hon. Peleg Sprague at Faneuil Hall: before the citizens of Boston and its vicinity, upon the character and services of Gen. William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, the Whig candidate for the presidency of the United States. Boston: Whig Republican Assoc., 1839
• July 4, 1843 – Charles Francis Adams Sr. speaksCharles Francis Adams. An oration, delivered before the City Council and citizens of Boston, in Faneuil Hall, on the sixty-seventh anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: July 4th, 1843. Boston: J. H. Eastburn, City printer, 1843
• April 15, 1848 – Edward Everett eulogizes John Quincy AdamsEdward Everett. A eulogy on the life and character of John Quincy Adams: delivered at the request of the legislature of Massachusetts, in Faneuil hall, April 15, 1848. Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, state printers, 1848
• May 26, 1854 – After arrest of Anthony Burns, 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."Boston slave riot, and trial of Anthony Burns: Containing the report of the Faneuil Hall meeting, the murder of Batchelder, Theodore Parker's Lesson for the day, speeches of counsel on both sides, corrected by themselves, a verbatim report of Judge Loring's decision, and detailed account of the embarkation. Boston: Fetridge and Co., 1854
• April 18, 1863 – Andrew Jackson Hamilton "of Texas" speaks "at the war meeting"Speech of Gen. A. J. Hamilton, of Texas, at the war meeting at Faneuil hall, Saturday evening, April 18, 1863. Boston: Press of T. R. Marvin & son, 1863
• January 9, 1865 – Edward Everett speaks on "the relief of the suffering people of Savannah"Savannah and Boston: account of the supplies sent to Savannah; with the Last appeal of Edward Everett in Faneuil Hall; The letter to the mayor of Savannah; and, The proceedings of the citizens, and letter of the mayor of Savannah. Boston: J. Wilson, 1865
• June 7, 1876 – Meeting "in favor of public parks;" Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and others speakParks for the people: Proceedings of a public meeting held at Faneuil hall, June 7, 1876. Boston: Franklin press: Rand, Avery, & co., 1876
• August 1, 1878 – "Indignation meeting ... to protest against the injury done to the freedom of the press by the conviction and imprisonment of Ezra H. Heywood"Proceedings of the indignation meeting held in Faneuil Hall, Thursday evening, August 1, 1878: to protest against the injury done to the freedom of the press by the conviction and imprisonment of Ezra H. Heywood. B.R. Tucker, 1878
• October 29, 1887 – Eben Norton Horsford speaks on occasion of the unveiling of Anne Whitney's Leif Ericson statue (installed on Commonwealth Ave.)Eben Norton Horsford. Discovery of America by Northmen: address at the unveiling of the statue of Leif Eriksen, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Oct. 29, 1887. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1888
• August 1890 – Julius Caesar Chappelle, Republican legislator of Boston, MA (1883–1886), one of the first black legislators in the United States, makes a speech (endorsing the Federal Elections bill that would help give blacks the right to vote) that was printed in The New York Age newspaper's front-page article, "At the Cradle of Liberty" on August 9, 1890."At the Cradle of Liberty," The New York Age, front page, Saturday, August 9, 1890.
• June 15, 1898 – James E. McCormick published a letter in the Boston Evening Transcript on June 2 which led to a June 15 meeting at Faneuil Hall, thus the founding of the American Anti-Imperialist League in opposition to the Spanish–American War as well the subsequent Filipino-American War. To note one of the league's more familiar names, Mark Twain served as vice-president from 1901 to his passing in 1910.
• 1903
  • March 4 – Frederic J. Stimson debates James F. CareySocialism: a speech delivered in Faneuil hall, February 7th, 1903, by Frederic J. Stimson ... in joint debate with James F. Carey. Boston: The Old Corner Book Store, Inc., 1903
  • March 19 – Protest "against the suppression of truth about the Philippines"Mass meetings of protest against the suppression of truth about the Philippines, Faneuil hall, Thursday, March 19, 1903.
• May 1909 – 32nd Grand Division (Order of Railroad Conductors)ORC Convention
• 1974 – Weathervane stolen, then returned"Grasshopper Weather Vane on Faneuil Hall Is Stolen". New York Times. January 6, 1974. p. 54.
• 1992 – Building restored
• 2012 – Lower level and first level completely renovated by Eastern General Contractors, Inc. of Springfield, MA

Gallery

File:Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1789 - NARA - 535907.jpg|1789 engraving of Faneuil HallFile:Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1839.png|1839 engraving of Faneuil HallFile:Wreck of the Atlantic -- Breakfast to Survivors in Faneuil Hall.jpg|Survivors of the {{ss|Atlantic|1870}} wreck are given breakfast at Faneuil Hall, 1873 engravingFile:Faneuil Hall in May 1973 - Boston MA.jpg|Faneuil Hall and Congress St., 1973File:Aerial view of Government Center construction, 1960s.jpg|Faneuil Hall (bottom left) during the construction of Government CenterFile:1981 BostonCityHall byLebovich11 HABS MA1176.jpg|1981 view of Faneuil Hall from the steps of Boston City HallFile:Interior of Faneuil Hall 01.jpg|The Great HallFile:Heraldic eagle, Faneuil Hall, Boston.jpg|1798 eagle statue in the building's interiorFile:Faneuil Hall May 2020.jpg|The building's exterior in 2020

See also

• Dock Square (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Harborplace
• South Street Seaport
• Boston Landmarks Commission
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
• National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts

References

Notes{{Reflist|35em}}Further reading

• Abram English Brown (1901) Faneuil hall and Faneuil Hall Market: or, Peter Faneuil and His Gift. Boston: Lee and Shepard.
• Burgon, John William (1839) Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gresham. London: Robert Jennings

External links

{{Commons category|Faneuil Hall}}

• Faneuil Hall Marketplace
• Faneuil Hall (City of Boston)
• Faneuil Hall (National Park Service)
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100223090516weblink">(Official website of the Freedom Trail)
• Suffolk County listings (National Register of Historic Places)
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080529144327weblink">Boston Classical Orchestra
• Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress. Includes 1937 photos.
• SAH Archipedia Building Entry
• Faneuil Hall Study Report

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