Old City Hall (Boston)
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Old City Hall | |
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Front façade, October 2006 | |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Coordinates | 42°21′29.20″N 71°3′33.59″W / 42.3581111°N 71.0593306°WCoordinates: 42°21′29.20″N 71°3′33.59″W / 42.3581111°N 71.0593306°W |
| Built | 1862-1865 |
| Architect | G. J. F. Bryant, A. D. Gilman |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP Reference # | 70000687 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1970[1] |
| Designated NHL | December 30, 1970[2] |
Boston's Old City Hall was home to its city council from 1865 to 1969. It was one of the first buildings in the French Second Empire style to be built in the United States. After the building's completion, the Second Empire style was used extensively elsewhere in Boston and for many public buildings in the United States, such as the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. as well as other city halls in Providence, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The building's architects were Gridley James Fox Bryant and Arthur Gilman.
History
Old City Hall, built between 1862 and 1865, is located at 45 School Street, along the Freedom Trail between the Old South Meeting House and King's Chapel. The Boston Latin School operated on the site from 1704 to 1748, and on the same street until 1844.
Also on the site, the Suffolk County Courthouse was erected in 1810 and converted to Boston's second city hall in 1841, being replaced by the current building twenty-four years later. Thirty-eight Boston mayors, including John F. Fitzgerald, Maurice J. Tobin, and James Michael Curley, served their terms of office on School Street at this site over a period of 128 years.
With the 1969 move to the current Boston City Hall, Old City Hall was converted over the next two years to serve other functions–an early and successful example of adaptive reuse. Boston based architecture firm Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc completed the adaptive use and renovation.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1970.[2][1] It now houses a number of businesses, organizations, and a Ruth's Chris Steak House, though its most famous tenant, the upscale French restaurant Maison Robert, closed in 2004.
Mayors who served in Old City Hall
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See also
- Boston City Council
- Boston City Hall - current city hall
- List of mayors of Boston
- Past Members of the Boston City Council
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
- National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
Image gallery
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Old Suffolk County Courthouse and Boston's City Hall 1841 to 1865
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Franklin statue, c. 1860. Photo by Deloss Barnum
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Boston Old City Hall, 1865
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Old City Hall, c. 1868 in a stereograph view
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Boston City Council office, City Hall, 1940[1]
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James Curley at Boston City Hall, 1913
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Boston City Council chambers, City Hall, c. 20th century
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Courtyard and entrance - 10/2006
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Benjamin Franklin Statue in Old City Hall
- ^ City of Boston. Boston City Council centennial: then and now, 1910-2010.
References
- 1 2 Staff (2006-03-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- 1 2 "Old City Hall (Boston)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
Further reading
- Boston City Council. Memorial of the inauguration of the statue of Franklin. 1857.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old City Hall, Boston. |
- Official site
- Library of Congress. Historic American Buildings Survey.
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