Cornhill was a street that existed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, between the 18th and 20th centuries. It was 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).From 1708 to 1824, a portion of Washington Street was known as "Cornhill;" cf. 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. As of 1969, Cornhill exists as 144 feet along the edge of City Hall Plaza."Public way. Open from Franklin Ave to approximately 144 feet easterly." cf.
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See also 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
Previous tenants of Cornhill Annin & Smith, 19th-century engraversBoston Directory. 1832 Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Company, located in the Iver Johnson Building, corner of Washington Street and Cornhill Daniel Clement Colesworthy, bookseller, c. 1850sBoston Directory. 1857 Frost & Adams, art supplies The Liberator, published by Isaac Knapp, Cornhill, c. 1837American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, no. 5153 Bela Marsh, 19th-century publisher F. T. Somerby, painter
References
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