Name/Title
Arch & Faneuil Hall, BostonEntry/Object ID
ph-50-140-nDescription
In September 1930, Boston erected a Victory Arch to celebrate 300 years since the founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Parades passed through Dock Square, past Faneuil Hall—the so-called "Cradle of Liberty," where colonists debated revolution. The hall was built in 1742 by Peter Faneuil, whose fortune came from the slave trade.
This wasn't Boston's first triumphal arch. In 1789, Charles Bulfinch designed one to welcome President Washington. Sixty trade groups marched in alphabetical order to avoid disputes over who came first.
We build arches for the moments we want to remember. What do celebrations and monuments mean in 2026? What does a Victory Arch mean in 2026?
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The Victory Arch in Dock Square, through which Boston's parade did pass to commemorate the tercentenary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in September, 1930 & Faneuil Hall, BostonPhotograph Details
Subject
The Victory Arch in Dock Square, tercentenaryCollection
W. H. Folsom Shoebox CollectionAcquisition
Notes
(these were discovered in an old shoe box in the closet off the Stone Room, next to Willie’s shed in 1983)Made/Created
Artist
Folsom, Wallace HerbertDate made
circa 1930Lexicon
Search Terms
Folsom, Wallace Herbert, (1884-1954) -- Photographer Victory Arch -- Boston, (Mass.) Faneuil Hall -- Boston, (Mass.) Massachusetts TercentennialDimensions
Height
4-1/4 inWidth
2-1/2 inGeneral Notes
Note
[Total 761 negatives from original shoebox of Folsom negatives]