A Grasshopper, A Market & Speeches: Faneuil Hall

by Heather Rockwood, Communications Manager

Faneuil Hall was built in 1742 by Peter Faneuil, (1700–1743), a man who inherited the estate of his uncle, but then grew to be one of the wealthiest men in Boston, using his business acumen as well as benefits from the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Faneuil gifted the building to Boston for use as a town meeting hall and marketplace. In the years before the American Revolution, the building was the scene of many incendiary speeches by liberty-seeking Bostonians, including Samuel Adams and James Otis Jr. The building continued to be used for town meetings until 1822, after which it was a thriving marketplace through the 1800s and early 1900s, while continuing to be a place for speech-making for Abolitionists. By the 1960s the building fell into disrepair but became a National Historic Landmark and went through renovations in the 1970s and 1990s. One of the more interesting aspects of Faneuil Hall is its copper weathervane in the shape of a grasshopper, created by Shem Drowne in 1742. In the map below from 1776, “D” marks the location of Faneuil Hall.

Two color images side by side. To the left a portrait painting of an older white man who is standing in a brown velvet jacket and vest while he gestures lightly behind him towards ships in the distance. On the right is a color map of Boston from 1776. Buildings are in pink and some are labeled with letters.
From left to right: John Smibert, Peter Faneuil, oil on canvas, 1739; Andrew Dury, A Plan of Boston, and its Environs shewing the true Situation of His Majesty’s Army, 1776.

The MHS has a large collection of photographs and a few engravings of Faneuil Hall throughout its 282-year history. The first image, an engraving, is from 1789. Its most notable features are the building’s central cupola, the three windows across the west side, and two floors, all of which changed in 1806 when Charles Bullfinch added floors, widened the building, and moved the cupola to the back, east side.

A color photograph of a black ink engraving of a building with two floors and a cupola in the center. There are other buildings in the background and several figures in the foreground viewing the building or walking by on foot or horse.
S. Hill after W. Pierpont, “View of Faneuil-Hall, in Boston, Massachusetts,” engraving, 1789.

I grouped the following photographs into similar views of the building, showing how some are eerily similar but from different time periods. The first group shows views of the front of the building, or east side.

Two black and white photographs with a similar view. Both focus on a large four story building with a cupola in the background with a large square surrounded by other buildings in the foreground. Many figures, horses and carts are going through the square.
Left: “Adams Sq., Looking Down to Faneuil Hall,” unidentified photographer, 1900. Right: View of Adams Square and Dock Square, looking north-east towards Faneuil Hall, Boston, possibly by Arthur A. Shurcliff, 19th century.

The second group shows Faneuil Square, or Adams Square, now Dock Square, in front of Faneuil Hall.

Three black and white photographs side by side. The one on the left and middle have very similar views with Faneuil Hall as a small sliver to the left and the focus on the buildings beside it. The one on the right is a larger view of the square in front of Faneuil Hall with the entire west side of the building in view.
From left to right: “Faneuil Hall Sq. south side,” unidentified photographer, 1850s–1860s; “Faneuil Sq. south side,” unidentified photographer, 1934; and “Adams Sq., looking east to Faneuil Hall,” unidentified photographer, 1934.

The last group of photographs captures the backside of Faneuil Hall, as well as the other end of Quincy Market on the south side, or South Market. You may notice that the first image on the left is flipped—try reading the signs—it is also the oldest photograph.

Four black and white photographs side by side. On the left is a very old photograph with blacked out edges, but focuses on the east side of Faneuil Hall. The other three are from farther away, but the middle left is closer than the other two. The middle right and right photographs are almost the same image which includes the length of Quincy Market and a bit of South Market in the view.
From left to right: Gilman Joslin, Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, daguerreotype, ca. 1840; “Faneuil Hall Market,” unidentified photographer, before 1868; “Faneuil Hall Market,” unidentified photographer, 1853–1900; and “Faneuil Hall Market,” unidentified photographer, 1933–1935.

This last photograph was taken from the north side of Faneuil Hall, but looks eastward, with a focus on Quincy Market behind it.

Black and white photograph of several buildings with Quincy Market the central focus and a large empty square in the foreground.
“Faneuil Hall Sq.,” unidentified photographer, 1934.

Something I am excited to see in the MHS collection is the Ben and Jane Thompson Faneuil Hall Marketplace Records that relate to the restoration and revitalization of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace area, including Quincy Market and the North and South Market buildings. The collection includes all the records for the planning, construction, and opening stages of the project, as well as correspondence from preconstruction and post-openings. Publicity and visual materials also comprise the collection, all yet to be digitized, but you can request to view it. Learn more about how to visit the MHS and see documents and collections like this.

Posted in From Our Collections