The Merchants Exchange building in Boston, Massachusetts, was built in 1841 to a design by architect Isaiah Rogers. Centrally located on State Street, it functioned as a hub for business activities in the city.
History
The Merchants Exchange served as one of Boston's "great gathering-points of the traders -- the marble-paved and frescoed hall ... with its newspaper files, bulletins, wind vane, and ship registry."Edwin Hodder. Cities of the world. Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., 1882; p.278. It was "elegant ... with a fine reading-room, ... and besides accommodations for the post office, and for several insurance and brokers' offices, affords many conveniences for the mercantile community."Charles Augustus Goodrich. The family tourist: A visit to the principal cities of the western continent: embracing an account of their situation, origin, plan, extent, their inhabitants, manners, customs, and amusements ... together with sketches of historical events. Case, Tiffany and company, 1848; p.57.
Architecture
Built between 1841 and 1842 by architect Isaiah Rogers, Merchants Exchange was considered "among the best specimens of architecture in Boston"John Hayward. A gazetteer of Massachusetts. J. Hayward, 1847. and "a dignified building in its day." Re-modelling occurred after the building "went down" in the fire of 1872.The Nation. Nov. 14, 1872.
After 1890, the "Exchange Building" occupied the site of the former Merchants Exchange building.
Function
The building housed business activities, such as: Board of Trade (est. 1854) Boston Board of Marine Underwriters (est. 1850) Boston Marine Society Boston Stock Exchange (1844–1853) Commercial Exchange (est. 1871) Post Office (ca.1860–1872)Justin Winsor. The memorial history of Boston, including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880. J. R. Osgood and co., 1881. Soldiers' Messenger Corps
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