Cornhill, Boston Explained

42.3596°N -71.0577°W

Cornhill was a street in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, located on the site of the current City Hall Plaza in Government Center. It was named in 1829; previously it was known as Market Street (1807–1828).^[1] In its time, it comprised a busy part of the city near Brattle Street, Court Street and Scollay Square. In the 19th century, it was the home of many bookstores and publishing companies.^[2] As of 1969, Cornhill exists as 144 feet along the edge of City Hall Plaza.^[3]

See also

• City Hall Plaza
• Sears' Crescent building (built 1816) 100 City Hall Plaza; formerly 38–68 Cornhill)
• Sears' Block (built 1848) corner Court + Washington St., formerly 70–72 Cornhill^[4]

Previous tenants of Cornhill

• Annin & Smith, 19th-century engravers^[5]
• Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Company, Located in the Iver Johnson Building, corner of Washington Street and Cornhill
• Daniel Clement Colesworthy, bookseller, c. 1850s^[6]
• Frost & Adams, art supplies
• The Liberator (anti-slavery newspaper), published by Isaac Knapp, Cornhill, c. 1837^[7]
• Bela Marsh, 19th century publisher
• F. T. Somerby, painter

Further reading

• "Old Boston Booksellers: The Three Burnham Brothers and Their Antecedents". The New York Times, July 21, 1893. p. 6, col. 3. (Mentions Samuel B. Drake and Burnham Brothers, booksellers.)
• "Booksellers of Cornhill: 1828-1865" by Alan Seaburg. Published by The Anne Miniver Press (2017). On-line Dropbox edition can be accessed at: anneminiverpress.com

External links

• Bostonian Society has materials related to the street.
• G. Kepes. Photo of Scollay Square from Pemberton Square Looking Across to Cornhill Street, 1957.
• Flickr. Sears Crescent, 1999
• Flickr. Sears Crescent, 2008
• Flickr. Photo, 2009

Notes and References

1. From 1708 to 1824, a portion of Washington Street was known as "Cornhill;" cf.
2. Web site: Cornhill – Once Boston's Literary Center, Today Replaced by Government Center. Forgotten New England. 5 June 2012. 10 May 2016.
3. "Public way. Open from Franklin Ave to approximately 144 feet easterly." cf. Web site: Street Book . City of Boston . 2010-06-17 .
4. Web site: National Register of Historic Places . U.S. Dept. of the Interior . 2010-06-17 .
5. [Boston Directory]
6. Boston Directory. 1857
7. American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, no. 5153