Merchants Exchange (Boston)
Introduction Merchant's Exchange, Boston, 1852The '''Merchants Exchange''' building (1842-1890) in Boston, Massachusetts was built in 1841 from 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." 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. "=== Architecture ===Built in 1841-1842 by architect Isaiah Rogers, Merchants Exchange was considered "among the best specimens of architecture in Boston" and "a dignified building in its day." Re-modelling occurred after the building "went down" in the fire of 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)* Soldiers' Messenger Corps
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Images Image:State Street, Boston, Mass..jpg|State StreetImage:State Street, looking down, Boston, Mass..jpg|State StreetImage:1869 MerchantsExchange Nanitz map Boston detail BPL 10490.png|Detail of 1860s map of Boston, showing Merchants Exchange buildingImage:1885 MerchantsExchange Boston.png|The Exchange, ca.1885Image:1885 MerchantsExchange Boston2.png|Reading room, ca.1885