Visit Historic Fanueil Hall in Boston

In the early 1700s, Boston merchant Peter Faneuil built a marketplace on the city's waterfront. The ground floor was divided into stalls, where meat, milk, cheese and vegetables were sold by local farmers. The building's location, hard by the docks of Boston Harbor, made it a central gathering place for Boston citizens to purchase their daily food needs, socialize and talk politics. When the market was destroyed by fire in 1761, a new building was erected. This one also had first-floor marketplace, as well as a large meeting room on the second floor, where Boston's municipal governing was decided at a series of town hall meetings.

Over the next decade, Faneuil Hall became the center of the independence movement in the American colonies. As the British imposed a series of taxes on the colonists, vehement opposition arose - primarily in Boston. Orators and agitators such as James Otis, James Warren and the firebrand speaker Samuel Adams spoke passionately - and openly - about American independence and revolution. Word of these speeches, and the growing movement in Massachusetts, spread through the colonies. Faneuil Hall built a reputation that earned it the name "Cradle of Liberty."

After the Revolutionary War, Faneuil Hall held its place as a forum for political thought. Over the years, a series of great speakers chose the upstairs meeting room as the venue for famous speeches. Fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, Daniel Webster eulogized both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at Faneuil Hall following the deaths on the same day. In the mid-1800s, Boston was again the center of an important political movement. Abolitionists stood in opposition to slavery, and historic figures such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison rallied support at Faneuil Hall. In the early 20^thcentury, Susan B. Anthony spoke at Faneuil Hall on the subject of women's suffrage.

Today, nearly 250 years after Faneuil Hall was rebuilt, it remains part of a vibrant marketplace where Boston residents and visitors alike can buy fresh meat and produce, along with prepared meals and merchandise from a wide variety of retail shops. Faneuil Hall and the neighboring Quincy Market are no longer on the Boston waterfront - landfills over the years have moved the edge of the harbor further away. But they remain a central gathering point in the heart of the city.

The Quincy Market retail complex was the result of a major revitalization project in the 1970s. The area was in disrepair, but was brought back to life as a tourist destination with restaurants, shops, pushcart vendors and summer-long free entertainment. The concept was so successful that it was copied in downtown areas in major cities around the country.

The center hall at Quincy Market houses a long center aisle food court, with seating in its two-story central hall. Additional food vendors and specialty shops are located in the basement level. Two long brick buildings - the North and South Markets - run parallel, with two stories of retail space.

The area around Faneuil Hall has been ranked as one of the top five tourist destinations in the country, attracting nearly 20 million visitors each year. The historic hall is one of 16 stops on the two-and-a-half mile Freedom Trail overseen by the National Park Service. The walking tour includes a number of locations of importance in American history, such as the site of the Boston Massacre - just steps from Faneuil Hall - Paul Revere's home, the Old South Meeting House where Sam Adams organized the Boston Tea Party. At the opposite end of Quincy Market from Faneuil Hall itself, it's just a short walk to the New England Aquarium.

Faneuil Hall is open daily from 9am to 5pm throughout the year. The marketplace is also open daily, with retail shops and restaurants open until well into the evening. Access is easy, with three separate Boston subway lines having stops within a block of Faneuil Hall.