| :: Boston >Downtown Airport
:: |
Attraction >Landmark
| Uss Constitution |
Address:
Charlestown Navy Yard
| Boston | 02129
Region:
Downtown Airport
Rating:
 
|
More Info
Phone: (617) 242-5642
FAX:
Website
|
|
|
| ::
Description and Basic Information ::
|
One of the premier attractions in downtown Boston remains Faneuil Hall Marketplace, an urban area mixing the old with the new. Vibrant, it is a bazaar of indoor and outdoor shopping and eating in the midst of an open-air highlighted festival. Located across from the waterfront in the heart of the city, it is sprawled atop more than six acres and encompasses Faneuil Hall, a brick hall used for gatherings, and Quincy Market, three restored 19th century granite buildings.
Surrounded by Boston's famous cityscape, just beneath the Custom House clock tower, Faneuil Hall Marketplace contains more than 70 shops, 14 restaurants, the city's most popular comedy club and 40 food stalls. Open-air cafes and clubs give way to a superb shopping experience covering the gamut from mall-type stores to small specialty boutiques. Architecturally, it is a beautiful representation of old Boston, tastefully enhanced by contemporary additions. Mammoth Doric columns grace the entrance to the Colonnade food court. In this center building, an aromatic central hallway lined with food vendors beneath a picturesque rotunda, every ethnic food imaginable can be found.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace, also referred to as Quincy Market, is steeped in history and appeals to all ages. Created by wealthy Boston merchant Peter Faneuil in 1742, a solitary building was established as a central food market catering to international shipping and trade. Boston's voters agreed with Faneuil's controversial proposal by a slim majority and a meeting space suitable for town gatherings was constructed. Lower levels were divided and leased for market purposes. But tragedy struck the area just 19 years later when Faneuil Hall burned.
Two years passed before the marketplace was rebuilt, this time financed by a public lottery. It was in this rebuilt structure that the first rumblings of the American Revolution were felt. Though gatherers in the meeting space should only have concerned themselves with local issues, the discussion turned to taxation policies and Faneuil Hall became the focus of revolutionary activity. Protests spilled into incidents of violence and fierce debates led opposition to various political maneuvers. Though the rhetoric expressed here concerned only the community of Boston, reports were carried throughout the colonies and led them together towards unity and independence. Activities here, where Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty urged colonial Bostonians to assert their independence, earned Faneuil Hall the name as America's 'Cradle of Liberty.'
Renowned architect Charles Bulfinch expanded Faneuil Hall in 1805 after its size became inadequate. The new masterful design remained a forum for the debate of national issues and its reputation continues today. In the early 19th Century the three granite structures of the Quincy Market were built to the east of the Hall, which in the 1970s underwent a major renewal. Another retail addition, Bull Market, was built in the 1980s and provides the vintage district with space for a fleet of artisans' pushcarts. Today, areas Faneuil envisioned purvey food and merchandise to thousands of daily visitors. America is on parade at the marketplace, along with millions of guests from abroad, each stepping into the ongoing stream of history. The secret to the charm of Faneuil Hall Marketplace is its celebration of city living, surrounded by the nearby North End Italian neighborhood, the docks and famed Boston Harbor. It is a fun place to eat, pilgrimage through shops, people-watch or simply chase the pigeons across the cobblestone. |
|
|
|
|
|
:: Boston >Downtown Airport :: |
|
|
