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bor, it forms ward 1, and contains 23,824 in- 

habitants. It is a place of much enterprise, and is united by the Grand Junction railroad with all the railroads that proceed from the city. The depot of the Grand Junction is con- nected with the wharves, which have great depth of water. The water frontage is almost 20,000 ft., and the wharves are the best in the city. Two lines of steamships for Liverpool have their berths there. Ship building is one of its most important branches of business. It has extensive elevators for transferring to vessels grain brought from the west in cars, and ample facilities for loading and unloading foreign steamers and for the reception and de- spatch of immigrants. During the six months ending with March, 1872, 14,558 cars with 139,187 tons of merchandise were received here, and 11,127 cars with 114,128 tons of freight were forwarded. During the same period more than 1,000,000 bushels of grain were received at the elevator, and 617,826 bushels were exported. A large portion of the city west of the Common, known as the Back Bay, consists of made land, and has already become the most beautiful and fashionable quarter. In 1852 the commonwealth began to fill in these flats, and the proceeds of sales of this made land up to January, 1872, amount- ed to $3,591,514, and the total expenditure to $1,547,220. About 500,000 feet of land still remain unsold, and it is expected that $1,600,- 000 profit will be realized from the improve- ment. Extending westerly from the public garden through this district is Commonwealth avenue, which when completed will be 1 m. long with a width of 240 ft. Through the centre runs a long park with rows of trees, while on either side are wide driveways. Many of the finest churches in the city, as well as private residences, have recently been erected in this quarter; among the public buildings are those of the Boston society of natural history and the institute of technology. The streets here are wide, regularly laid out, and present a handsome appearance; but in the older parts of the city, especially in the North End and the West End, they are ex- ceedingly irregular. Some are very short, many very narrow, and most of them very crooked. Great improvements, however, have been made in the older parts of Boston by widening and raising streets. The most impor- tant of these improvements were made in Tremont street, south of Boylston street, and in Hanover and Devonshire streets. After the great fire of 1872 the streets burned over were improved by widening and straightening. The principal thoroughfare for general retail stores is Washington street, which extends S. W. in a very irregular line from Cornhill to Roxbury, a distance of more than 2 m. An ordinance has been passed for its extension northerly. The district bounded by State, Court, Tremont, Boylston, and Essex streets may be regarded as the business section of the city. The finan- cial centre is State street, the headquarters of the bankers and brokers. Pearl street has been the largest boot and shoe market in the world, while Franklin, Chauncey, Summer, and the neighboring streets are noted for the great establishments that make Boston the leading market of the country for American dry goods. Boston has 120 hotels, 13 markets, 70 public halls, and 16 free public baths, of which 5 are for females. Gas is furnished by 7 gas compa- nies, and the streets are lighted by 5,505 gas and 1,192 oil lamps. The city in 1872 con- tained 27,457 dwelling houses, 2,670 stores, and 2,690 miscellaneous buildings. There are 257,- 563,351 square feet of vacant land applicable to building purposes, valued at $31,546,300, and 78,061,539 square feet of marsh land and flats, valued at $2,630,100. The most celebra- ted public building is Faneuil hall, the " cradle of liberty," in Dock square, which has a his-

Faneuil Hall.

torical reputation, because of the meetings of the revolutionary patriots that were there held. Most of the Boston political meetings are held in it now, when they are meant to be of a comprehensive character. The building was erected in 1742 by Peter Faneuil, a gentleman of Huguenot descent, and by him given to the town. It was nearly destroyed by fire in 1761. Rebuilt, and enlarged in 1805, it now covers nearly twice its first area. The hall is 76 ft. square end 28 ft. high. It is adorned with portraits of eminent Americans, conspicuous among which is an original one of Washington by Stuart. Among the other paintings are a full length of Peter Faneuil (a copy), Healy's picture of Webster replying to Hayne, and portraits of Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Edward Everett, Abraham Lincoln, and John A. Andrew. The room over the hall is used by military companies for drill. The basement, which formerly was a market, is now a series of stores. The state house, in Beacon