North Square (Boston)

North Square in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, sits at the intersection of Moon, Prince, North, Garden Court and Sun Court Streets. Paul Revere lived here, as did other notables in the 17th and 18th centuries. Prior to July 4, 1788, the area was known as Clarke's Square.^[1]

North Square in 2019, looking toward Prince Street (left) and Garden Court Street

History

In the 17th century, Old North Meeting House anchored the neighborhood. Its pastor was Increase Mather, who lived in the square until his residence was destroy by fire.^[2] On November 27, 1676, Mather's home, the meeting house, and a total of 45 buildings in the North End were destroyed by a fire.^[3] The meeting house was rebuilt soon afterwards, and the Paul Revere House was later constructed on the site of the Mather House.^[4]

"In the eighteenth century Boston's two grandest houses were on North Square. ... William Clark, merchant, had a 3-story brick house with 26 lavish rooms, and nearby, facing the garden court, was John Foster's house, later occupied by Governor Hutchinson."^[5] John Pitcairn and John Downes also lived in the square.^[6]

After the death of George A. Scigliano in 1906, North End residents lobbied to build a monument to him in North Square and rename it Scigliano Square. Instead, the North End Park near Copp's Hill was renamed Scigliano Park in his honor.^[7]

In the 20th century, as was typical of the North End generally, predominantly Italian immigrants lived in the square.

Since the 1950s, North Square has been along the path of the Freedom Trail.

Image gallery

• 
  Foster-Hutchinson house, corner of Garden Court and Fleet St. Probably built ca.1686 by merchant John Foster. Occupied by merchant Thomas Hutchinson (d.1739) (father of Governor Hutchinson, who was born in the house)^[8]
• 
  Detail of 1743 map of Boston, showing North End and Clark's Square (later North Square)
• 
  Detail of 1814 map of Boston, showing North Square
• 
  Bethel Church, built 1832^[9]
• 
  North Square, ca.1845, by Rupert Sadler
• 
  North Square and North Street, ca.1894
• 
  North Square, ca.1895
• 
  North Square, 2010

See also

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Mariners House, located at 11 North Square
• Paul Revere House, located at 19 North Square
• Pierce–Hichborn House, located at 29 North Square

References

1. Street Laying-Out Department (1910). Record of Streets: A Record of the Streets, Alleys, Places, Etc. in the City of Boston. Boston: City Printing Department – via Google Books.
2. Mann, ed. Walks & talks about historic Boston. Boston: Mann Publishing Co., 1916; p.45.
3. "Great Fires of the 17th and 18th Centuries". bpl.org. Boston Public Library. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
4. Alex R. Goldfeld (2009). The North End: A Brief History of Boston's Oldest Neighborhood. Charleston, SC: History Press. OCLC 318292902.
5. Southworth and Southworth. AIA Guide to Boston, 3rd ed. Globe Pequot, 2008; p.63.
   - Lydia Maria Child describes Hutchinson's house in her 1826 novel The Rebels, or Boston before the Revolution. Cf. F. Carruth. Boston in Fiction. The Bookman, November 1901; p.243.
6. "The Clark and Hutchinson Houses". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 18, 1881; p.345.
7. "ALDERMEN SAY SCIGLIANO PARK: Change Name of North End Park Without Debate". The Boston Globe. December 31, 1907. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
8. A. W. Mann. Walks & Talks About Historic Boston. 1917
9. Bowen's picture of Boston. 1838.

External links

• Bostonian Society Archived 2010-05-09 at the Wayback Machine has materials related to the square.
• Google news archive

42°21′48.75″N 71°03′13.05″W