Cornhill, Boston

This article is about the Boston street named in 1829. For the Cornhill section of Washington Street, see Washington Street (Boston).

42°21′34.58″N 71°3′27.81″W

Cornhill, Boston, 1962

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][2] 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.^[3] As of 1969, Cornhill exists as 144 feet along the edge of City Hall Plaza.^[4]

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  Detail of 1826 map of Boston, showing Market Street (renamed Cornhill in 1828)
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  Detail of 1832 map of Boston, showing Cornhill and vicinity
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  Cornhill, c. 1836. Shows shops of Light & Horton; Gerry & Burt; George W. Light; Peck & Co.; William Peirce; etc.
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  Advertising for the Prisoner's Friend published on Cornhill, c. 1840s. "Devoted to the abolition of capitol punishment, and the improvement of prison discipline"
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  Advertisement for George C. Rand & Co. printers, 1849
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  Advertisement for Stephen Smith's Desk Warehouse, 1854
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  Whig Headquarters, 1856
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  Ad for James Campbell, antiquarian bookshop, c. 1860s^[5]
• 
  c. 1897
• 
  Cornhill, Boston, c. 1905
• 
  Overview of Brattle St. (left), Cornhill (right), and Faneuil Hall (upper right), c. 1920

See also

• Sears' Crescent building (built 1816) 100 City Hall Plaza; formerly 38–68 Cornhill)^[6][7]
• Sears' Block (built 1848) corner Court + Washington St., formerly 70–72 Cornhill^[6][7]

Previous tenants of Cornhill

• Annin & Smith, 19th-century engravers^[8]
• Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Company, located in the Iver Johnson Building, corner of Washington Street and Cornhill
• Daniel Clement Colesworthy, bookseller, c. 1850s^[9]
• Frost & Adams, art supplies
• The Liberator, published by Isaac Knapp, Cornhill, c. 1837^[10]
• Bela Marsh, 19th-century publisher
• F. T. Somerby, painter