Located on a street named for one of its former tenants (Boston Latin School) is a large granite structure which was also the former home of Boston’s City Hall. The Boston Latin School, the first primary tenant, was founded on April 23, 1635. It was located at this site until 1844 when it relocated to the Fenway, just west of downtown Boston, at 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur. It was the very first public school. Students upon enrolling here were required to take three to four years of Latin. Among the many noted alumni include Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
After the Latin school relocated the building was vacant for a period before becoming the site of Boston’s City Hall. The current building is actually the third City Hall, which was erected in 1865. This site remained the center of Boston politics for thirty-eight mayors until 1969 when the controversial Government Center was built. The current tenants of the former Latin School and City Hall now include some commercial offices and a popular steak house.
Old City Hall is constructed in the French Second-Empire-style with four distinct tiers to it and containing two sets of large columns that border the front bay. It was designed by Gridley J. Fox Bryant and Arthur Gilman. Gilman also designed the nearby Arlington Street Church by the Boston Public Gardens, and whom based this structure on the 1850s extension to the Louvre in Paris. His inspiration likely comes from the days he studied in France.
If you walk inside the front bay entrance you will find a series of murals that provide further history to the building. Prior to being reused for commercial purposes and after the abandonment of City Hall, the building was considered to be razed before it was declared a National Historic Landmark. In fact, the Old City Hall was actually one of the very first buildings to obtain such a designation in all of America. Today it is also a popular stop along Boston’s Freedom Trail.
If you explore with the courtyard area you will find three notable statues of interest:
- Donkey Statue by Unknown Artist.
- Josiah Quincy Statue by Thomas Ball.
- Benjamin Franklin Statue by Richard Saltonstall Greenough.
INFO
Website: http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/visitor/boston-latin.html
Address: 45 School Street, Boston, MA
Cost: Free
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