1814 Exchange Coffee House on Congress Street Boston detail of map by Hales BPL 12926

The Exchange Coffee House (1809-1818) was a hotel, coffeehouse, and place of business in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in the early 19th century. Designed by architect

Asher Benjamin Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities an ...

, it was located at Congress Square on Congress Street, and in its day it was the largest building in Boston and one of the tallest buildings in the northeastern United States.

Andrew Dexter Jr. Andrew Dexter Jr. (March 28, 1779 – November 2, 1837), was an American lawyer, financier, and speculator. He is known for committing one of the first major financial frauds in the United States, and for being the founder of Montgomery, Ala ...

financed the project. Dexter resorted to financial fraud to see the construction to completion, and fled to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

to escape prosecution and his creditors. The completed building passed to a succession of owners, who attempted to run it profitably, including

Gilbert & Dean Gilbert & Dean (1802–1823) was a banking and publishing firm in Boston, Massachusetts, run by Samuel Gilbert and Thomas Dean in the early 19th-century. As publishers, they produced works by Joseph Croswell, David Humphreys, Susanna Rowson, John ...

. The Exchange Coffee House burned down in November 1818. Its owners and financial backers lost most of their investment, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.(18 November 1818)
From the Boston Daily Advertiser
'' Adams Centinel''

Events

* 1809 - Fencing demonstration by Tromelle & Girard. * 1810 ** June 26: Two notable Boston musicians of the time, François Mallet and

Gottlieb Graupner __NOTOC__ Johann Christian Gottlieb Graupner (6 October 1767 – 16 April 1836) was a musician, composer, conductor, educator and publisher. Born in Hanover, Germany, he played oboe in Joseph Haydn's orchestra in London. After moving to the Unit ...

, presented a concert at the Exchange Coffee House featuring “all the Musicians of the town.” ** December: Mr. Rannie, ventriloquist. * 1815 - Exhibit of the "panorama of the Battle of Leipsic." * 1817 - Sculpture exhibit assembled by "Petre Alessandri, sculptor, lately arrived from Italy." * 1818 ** February 27: A group of the

Boston Associates The Boston Associates were a loosely linked group of investors in 19th-century New England. They included Nathan Appleton, Patrick Tracy Jackson, Abbott Lawrence, and Amos Lawrence. Often related directly or through marriage, they were based in ...

(including

Patrick Tracy Jackson Patrick Tracy Jackson (August 14, 1780 – September 12, 1847) was an American manufacturer, one of the founders of the Boston Manufacturing Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, and later a founder of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, whose deve ...

and

Daniel Pinckney Parker Daniel Pinckney Parker (1781-1850) was a prominent merchant, shipbuilder, and businessman in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Daniel Pinckney Parker was born on August 30, 1781, in Southborough, Massachusetts, to Benjamin and Abigail ...

) met at the Exchange Coffee House to discuss organizing the

Suffolk Bank Suffolk Bank was a private clearinghouse bank in Boston, Massachusetts, that exchanged specie or locally backed bank notes for notes from country banks to which city-dwellers could not easily travel to redeem notes. The bank was issued its corpor ...

, a clearinghouse bank which had been granted its

corporate charter In corporate governance, a company's articles of association (AoA, called articles of incorporation in some jurisdictions) is a document which, along with the memorandum of association (in cases where it exists) form the company's constituti ...

by the 38th Massachusetts General Court on February 10. The bank's directors continued meeting periodically at the Coffee House until March 19, when they began renting offices on State Street.

Events

References

Further reading