Julien Hall (Boston)


Julien Hall was a building in Boston, Massachusetts, on the corner of Congress Street and Milk Street. It flourished 1825-1843, housing a variety of public events such as lectures by Red Jacket, William Lloyd Garrison; temperance meetings; political meetings; auctions; exhibitions of live animals, portraits by William James Hubard, John H. I. Browere; performances of the "automaton chess player" and the "panharmonicon;" and so on. By 1842 boxer John Sheridan had converted space in the hall into an athletic gymnasium.
The building was known as "Julien Hall" because it had been "built on the land where formerly stood the much noted Julien's Restorator." It was also called "Congress Hall." In 1828 it was described as "a large and convenient edifice... erected in 1825, by Dr. Edward H. Robbins.... There are two halls in this building, 55 by 44 feet square; the principal one is 15 feet high, and receives light through the cupola in the centre. These are rented for various purposes, such as public exhibitions, the holding of meetings, &c."

Events at the Hall