Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall and Dock Square, Boston (2)

by

Faneuil Hall, taken from Dock Square in Boston in 1930. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

318_1930-2Bbpl

The scene in 2014:

318_2014

Similar to the scene in the photos in this post, this view shows Faneuil Hall as the one constant in an otherwise very different scene.  It was probably the oldest building in the 1930 photo by at least 100 years, but 84 years later it has outlasted all of the other buildings, many of which were taken down during various urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s, including the construction of the Central Artery.

Faneuil Hall and Dock Square, Boston (1)

by

Faneuil Hall, taken from Dock Square in Boston in 1930. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

317_1930-2Bbpl

The scene in 2014:

317_2014

Faneuil Hall and the Custom House Tower are still there, but otherwise this scene has changed dramatically.  Taken from in front of modern-day City Hall, the scene in the first photo shows the Faneuil Hall area when it was still a major commercial center in the city, as opposed to a destination primarily for tourists and city workers on their lunch break.  Today, Congress Street cuts through the area where Dock Square once was, and behind the photos, City Hall towers over the area.

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Boston

by

The east face of Faneuil Hall, with Quincy Market to the right, taken in 1875.  Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

252_1875-bpl

The same view in 2014:

252_2014

Compare with the photos in this post, wheich show Faneuil Hall a little closer and about 20 years after his 1875 photo was taken.  Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are still there, having been built in 1742 and 825, respectively.  However, the scene is very different in the background.  Boston’s massive City Hall building is just beyond and to the left of Faneuil Hall, with other modern skyscrapers behind it.  This was once the Scollay Square neighborhood of Boston, which was completely demolished in the 1960s to build City Hall and the surrounding buildings, with the neighborhood being renamed Government Center.

Faneuil Hall, Boston

by

Faneuil Hall in Boston, as it appeared between 1890 and 1899. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The building in 2021:

The building was completed in 1742 as a meeting hall and marketplace, and was largely reconstructed following a fire in 1762 that gutted the building.  It is well known as having been a place where patriots such as Samuel Adams and James Otis gave speeches concerning independence in the years leading up to the American Revolution.