Boston
Faneuil Hall
Exterior, rear approach, which is now the `front' adjoining to Government
Center. There is a statue here of Samuel Adams taking up space which
could be used by a tourist goods vendor.
Faneuil Hall, opened for Boston town meetings on 13 September 1742; named
in honor of its benefactor, a wealthy Huguenot merchant Peter Faneuil;
site of public political debates from before the revolution up through the
Civil War; called the "Cradle of American liberty," due to the speeches
given there by James Otis, Samuel Adams, and others; venue for famous 1837
floor address by Wendell Phillips against slavery. A classic example of
the privatization of public space and the commodification of collective
memory when, in 1973, the City of Boston turned it over to a private firm,
the Rouse Company, who renovated it along with Quincy Market, to create a
"historic" shopping-mall tourist attraction.
Back to Public Space Index