Faneuil Hall

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Faneuil Hall, east side
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Faneuil Hall, east side
Quincy Market
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Quincy Market

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 England, and is now part of Boston National Historical Park and a well-known stop on the Freedom Trail.

The original Faneuil Hall was built by artist John Smibert between 1740-42 in the style of an English country market, with an open ground floor and assembly room above. Funding was provided by a wealthy Boston merchant, Peter Faneuil. Though "Faneuil" is originally French, it is pronounced [ˈfæn.jəɫ] rather than [fa.nøˈil]. (There is some evidence it was pronounced quite differently in Colonial times, namely as in "funnel".)

It burned down in 1761, but was rebuilt in 1762. In 1806 the hall was greatly expanded by Charles Bulfinch, doubling the building's height and width and adding a third floor. Four new bays were added, to make seven total, the open arcades were enclosed, and the cupola moved to opposite end of the building. Bulfinch applied Doric brick pilasters to the bottom two floors, with Ionic pilasters on the third floor. This renovation added galleries around the assembly hall and increased its height. The building was entirely rebuilt 1898-99 using noncombustible materials, and the ground floor and basement altered in 1979. It was again restored in 1992.

Fanueil Hall is now part of a larger festival marketplace named Quincy Market, which includes several very long granite buildings which now operates as an outdoor/indoor mall and food eatery. It was managed by The Rouse Company and its success in the late 1970s led to the emergence of similar marketplaces in other US cities.

On November 3, 2004, Faneuil Hall was the site of a speech by Senator John F. Kerry in which he conceded defeat in the U.S. presidential election, 2004.


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