COLLECTION GUIDES

1900-2010; bulk: 1969-1978

Guide to the Collection

Restrictions on Access

The Ben and Jane Thompson Faneuil Hall Marketplace records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@lesvoorbereiding.com.


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of professional records of Ben and Jane Thompson in relation to the restoration and revitalization of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace area, including Quincy Market and the North and South Market buildings. Material consists of site development documents from the planning, construction, and opening phases of the project; correspondence from pre-construction and post-openings; publicity from the project's various phases; and visual material.

Historical Sketch

Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a European-style festival marketplace in downtown Boston that includes four historic buildings: Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, North Market, and South Market. Following the designation in 1966 of the entire area as a National Historic Landmark and its subsequent placement on the National Register of Historic Places, funds were awarded to the city of Boston to restore the three market buildings to their original 19th-century appearances and to revitalize the area as a shopping and dining destination.

In 1971, the combined Van Arkel and Moss, Inc. of Philadelphia and R. M. Bradley & Co. of Boston were designated as project developers, with the restoration designed by Benjamin Thompson and Associates. Following the removal of Van Arkel and Moss-R. M. Bradley, the Rouse Company of Columbia, Maryland, was designated developers and managers of the project in March 1973. The design by Thompson closed the streets between the market buildings to vehicles and opened them to pedestrian traffic, with Quincy Market as the retail and food-focused center and the North and South Markets also providing shopping and eating options. The design was meant to retain the original spirit of the markets as places to buy meat, produce, dairy, baked goods, and wine, as well as adding cafes, restaurants, a theater, night clubs, boutiques, and kiosks.

The area was to play a key part in the Boston 200 celebrations, marking the city's observance of the American Revolution beginning in 1975. On 26 August 1976, Quincy Market held its grand opening, followed by the opening of South Market in 1977 and North Market in 1978.

Benjamin Thompson was born 3 July 1918 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Benjamin Thompson and Lillian Mudge Thompson. He received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Yale School of Architecture in 1941. In 1946, he was one of the founders of The Architects Collaborative, which included Walter Gropius. In 1953, he founded Design Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then Benjamin Thompson and Associates in 1966. Thompson, along with his wife Jane, also became the owner of Landmark Inn, the four-story restaurant in the North Market building. It included the Flower Garden Cafe on the street level, which was originally going to be called the Grasshopper Restaurant; Thompson's Chowder House on the lower level; Wild Goose Rotisserie on the 2nd level, along with its private room the Wine Bin; and Bunch of Grapes Tavern located on the 3rd floor. In 1969, he married Jane Fiske McCullogh. Thompson died 17 August 2002.

Jane Fiske McCullogh Thompson was born 30 June 1927 in Champaign, Illinois, to David Lewis Fiske and Ahna Anderson Fiske. After attending Vassar College, she worked at the Museum of Modern Art and was a co-founder of Industrial Design magazine. She then became a partner at Design Research, followed by partner of planning at Benjamin Thompson and Associates, and later headed her own firm Thompson Design Group. Jane Thompson died 22 August 2016.

Collection Description

The Ben and Jane Thompson Faneuil Hall Marketplace records consist of 8 record cartons, 2 document boxes, and 3 OS boxes. The collection pertains to the planning, development, construction, and opening phases of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace restoration and revitalization project, mainly focusing on the Quincy, North, and South Market buildings. Included in the collection is reports; proposals; surveys; design and usage concepts; historical research; retail and merchandising; research; correspondence from Ben and Jane Thompson, affiliates at Benjamin Thompson Associates (BTA), The Rouse Company (TRC), Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), city officials, contractors, and project partners; news clippings; published articles about the project, as well as articles by the Thompsons; other press material; printed publicity and advertising; photographs; negatives; contact sheets; reprints; transparencies; slides; plans; elevations; sketches; artistic renderings; and maps.

Arrangement Note

This collection is loosely arranged chronologically within each series.

Processing Information

This collection has been minimally processed and retains most of the original folders.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Jane Thompson, 2003 and 2005.

Restrictions on Access

The Ben and Jane Thompson Faneuil Hall Marketplace records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@lesvoorbereiding.com.

Detailed Description of the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Ben and Jane Thompson Faneuil Hall Marketplace records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Thompson, Benjamin, 1918-2002.
Thompson, Jane (Jane Fiske).

Organizations:

Benjamin Thompson and Associates.
Rouse Company.
Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Faneuil Hall (Boston, Mass.)--Photographs.
Quincy's Market (Boston, Mass.)--Photographs.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Boston, Mass.)--Photographs.

Subjects:

Historic buildings--Conservation and restoration--Massachusetts--Boston.
Historic preservation--Massachusetts--Boston.
Marketplaces--Conservation and restoration--Massachusetts--Boston.
Marketplaces--Remodeling for other use--Massachusetts--Boston.
Urban renewal--Massachusetts--Boston.
Architects--Massachusetts--Boston.
Architecture--Massachusetts--Photographs.
Architecture--Designs and plans.
Buildings--Massachusetts--Boston--photographs.
Boston (Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Conservation and restoration.
Boston (Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works.
Architectural drawings (visual works).
Scrapbooks--1976.
Scrapbooks--1976-1978.

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