History
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Faneuil Hall, opened in 1742 in downtown Boston, has long served as both marketplace and meeting hall. Funded by merchant and slave trader Peter Faneuil after a narrow town vote, it was built on newly reclaimed land and rebuilt after a 1761 fire. In the years before the American Revolution, James Otis Jr., Samuel Adams, and others made it a major site of protests and debate, earning it the nickname “Cradle of Liberty.” Its history is also tied to slavery, nearby slave auctions, British occupation, and wartime use. Expanded in 1806, it remains a city-owned public landmark within Boston National Historical Park.
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Boston, Massachusetts · United States
