Faneuil Hall

Often referred to as “the home of free speech” and “the Cradle of Liberty,” Faneuil Hall hosted America’s first Town Meeting.  Built by wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil in 1741, this imposing structure is the place where the Sons of Liberty proclaimed their dissent against Royal oppression. Faneuil Hall has served as an open forum meeting hall and marketplace for more than 250 years and has continued to provide a forum for debate on the most consequential issues of the day.

The first floor served as a marketplace for the local townspeople to sell their goods. The second floor housed the town meeting hall. Here, Bostonians protested the taxation policies of the British Empire and set the doctrine of "no taxation without representation." It was here on November 5, 1773, that John Hancock and other Bostonians held the first of the tea meetings to discuss the fate of that "baneful weed." Famous abolitionists Wendell Philips, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas all spoke here and the hall continues to serve as a forum for important issues of the day.

“May Faneuil Hall ever stand as a monument to teach the world that resistance to oppression is a duty, and will under true republican institutions become a blessing.”

General Marquis de Lafayette

Faneuil Hall
617-242-5642
Open daily 9:00am - 5:00pm.
Historical talks every thirty minutes, 9:30 - 4:30
www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/