Faneuil Hall essays

Faneuil Hall essays In the early eighteenth century Boston did not have a central area to participate in commerce and civic duty. Street vendors who roamed the city with their pushcarts sold food and other items. Boston was the center of trade at this point in time and the need for a central marketplace was profound. The city was growing at a rapid pace and was running out of land. Businessmen from the outskirts of Boston brought trash and dirt to the harbor. The men dumped the dirt off of the piers and eventually created piles large enough to cover with fill and build on. Many say that parts of Boston were stolen from the sea. The CAS building is a prime example of an area that was built on a dump. If Boston were to ever be hit with an earthquake many of its structures would fall into the Charles River or the harbor. In 1742, Faneuil hall was constructed on the soft sediment fill. Peter Faneuil, a wealthy Bostonian, donated the citys first market place. Faneuil hall is one of the most promi nent open spaces in Boston. The site is only open to pedestrians and is characterized by its unique cobblestone streets. There are three markets (North, South, Quincy) that define the barriers of the marketplace. The area is alive with the characteristics of both the old world and the new. The most remarkable and identifiable aspect of Faneuil hall in 1762 was its usage. Originally constructed in 1742 by Smibert, it burnt to the ground nineteen years later. In 1762 the hall was used as a meeting place for the men who organized the American Revolution. In 1805 Charles Bullfinch was chosen to renovate the hall so that it could better serve the expanding city. Faneuil hall was originally three-barrel tunnel rows wide and constructed of a brick. Bullfinch and his team expanded it to seven and incorporated the existing structure of the hall into the renovation. He also added a third floor, which was pr ...