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King's Chapel and Beyond
Around 1750, the present, stone version of King's Chapel replaced the wooden structure of 1688. King James II had ordered the wooden chapel built. It was the first Anglican church in Boston, erected on the old burying ground over strong Puritan objections. Puritan power had weakened, and James had appointed a royal governor to administer the colonies of Massachusetts.
Behind the wooden chapel was the Boston Latin School. The Boston Latin School is the oldest American public school still operating, though at another Boston location. The school trained many of America;s founders, including Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock.
On the site of the former Latin School now stands the Old City Hall, symbolizing the far more cosmopolitan spirit of Victorian Boston. Completed in 1865, it was an inspired example of the French Second Empire style, with its distinctive copper mansard roof, now a faded blue-green. The handsome building served until 1969, when the new City Hall opened nearby at Government Center. |