Old Corner Bookstore
Old Corner Bookstore
3
About
Once America's most esteemed publisher and bookseller, the Old Corner Bookstore published such renowned authors as Longfellow, Emerson and Hawthorne.
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Dorchester / Roxbury / Mattapan
How to get there
- State • 3 min walk
- Government Center • 4 min walk
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951 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.0
33 reviews
Excellent
1
Very good
8
Average
14
Poor
5
Terrible
5
Rosalba O
2 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
How was this venerable old building allowed to become a Chipotle? Complete disgrace and really marred for me the Freedom Trail.
Written July 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RonL40
Utica, NY3,633 contributions
May 2015 • Solo
The Bookstore was an institution. Remember it well. No reason whatsoever to go there now unless you want chain restaurant Mexican in a town that has 100, no 150, better Mexican restaurants. Ok, maybe 200.
Written August 1, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tRAVellerOfTheW0rld
Almere, The Netherlands1,723 contributions
Jul 2013 • Family
We saw the building of the former Old Corner Bookstore and from the outside it is still the same building as it was when it was built in 1712, but it is now occupied by a Mexican Grill!! You would not expect this while walking the Freedom Trail, seen the fact that other sites have been functionally well preserved. The Bookstore has a long history. The original building from 1638 burned down in the Great Boston Fire of 1711. The brick building we now see dates from 1712 and was an apothecary for many years. It was used as a bookstore from 1828 and became known when publishing company Ticknor and Fields used the building from 1832 till 1865. Many great authors like Longfellow, Emerson, Hawthorne, Dickens and Holmes had their works published here and Ticknor and Fields became the most important publishers of America. The building stayed a bookstore and was restored in 1960 when it was rescued from demolition by Historic Boston Inc., a non profit preservation organization. After that is was still used as a bookstore by Boston Globe, but became a jewelry store in 2005. Now it is called Chipotle Mexican Grill, where you can grab a bite when you take a break while walking the Freedom Trail.....
Written February 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AnnArborMiBob
Ann Arbor, MI1,619 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
In February 2013, either before or after the photo of the Old Corner Bookstore was taken that heads off this TripAdvisor entry, this building was a Chipotle Mexican Grill; see my accompanying photo. What a fate for the 18th century home of Ticknor and Fields, the nation's leading book publisher of the time! "Walden", "The Scarlet Letter", and "Hiawatha" were all published here, as was Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Also, the "Atlantic Monthly" was published here for 148 years before moving away from town.
One of Boston's oldest surviving buildings, you can admire this from outside to help satisfy your craving for history. Then you can go inside and satisfy your craving for a gourmet burrito. What a package deal!
One of Boston's oldest surviving buildings, you can admire this from outside to help satisfy your craving for history. Then you can go inside and satisfy your craving for a gourmet burrito. What a package deal!
Written August 7, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DPD123
Pittsburgh, PA174 contributions
Jul 2012 • Couples
It pains me to see such a historic icon gone, just gone and now a fast food eatery. Still, there's history to be told. The building was once an apothecary and residence on land owned by William Hutchinson. His wife, Anne was banished from Boston in the 1630's due to her religious belief which were not Puritan (Was she a Quaker?).
In the 19th century it housed Ticknot and Fields, a publishing house. Notables such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet Beecher Stowe all gathered here. The "Scarlet Letter," and the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," were printed here.
When the bookstore more to larger quarters the building began a decline that lasted into the 1960's and sadly has ended up as a Mexican eatery . . . I'm not really sure where the previous reviewer was but it was not the site of the Old Bookstore!
In the 19th century it housed Ticknot and Fields, a publishing house. Notables such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Harriet Beecher Stowe all gathered here. The "Scarlet Letter," and the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," were printed here.
When the bookstore more to larger quarters the building began a decline that lasted into the 1960's and sadly has ended up as a Mexican eatery . . . I'm not really sure where the previous reviewer was but it was not the site of the Old Bookstore!
Written July 9, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julie F
Tempe, AZ89 contributions
Nov 2021 • Couples
It's just a plaque as a Chipotle now operates in that space. Super disappointing. I was hoping for an actual bookstore not a burrito
Written November 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John W
Gatesville, TX112 contributions
Jan 2020
Ok to walk by here on the Freedom Trail, but really nothing to see; couldn't find a marker or any indication of its significance. Best thing is to read its history online.
Written January 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kim G
Pacific Grove, CA3,750 contributions
Sep 2018
1718 Old Corner Bookstore is the oldest downtown commercial building and from 1845-1903 was the home to Ticknor & Fields, publishers of Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter"; Thoreau's "Walden"; and Longfellow's "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", to name but a few. The literary club comprised of Alfred Tennyson; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Henry David Thoreau; Charles Dickens; Mark Twain; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Harriet Beecher Stowe along with many others, discussed works and conversed at "The Saturday Club". Originally this was the site of a wooden building built in 1634, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1711. With its gambrel roof, it stood when Benjamin Franklin strolled by on his way to Boston Latin School as a youth, altered only by the bay windows which were added in 1828. Interesting site to be aware of as you explore The Freedom Trail.
Written August 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mlorahga
Augusta, GA1,503 contributions
Sep 2018
The Corner Bookstore is a credit to American Capitalism. It is the second is the oldest commercial building in Boston. For many years it operated as a publisher and bookstore. Today it is a Chipotle's restaurant.
Written August 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nick D
Calgary, Canada1,214 contributions
Jun 2018 • Couples
on the Freedom Trail the old Corner Bookstore has turned 300 years old and is Boston's oldest commercial building.
Unfortunately, though the exterior is in remarkably good condition the interior is now a fast food restaurant with really not much to see.
Unfortunately, though the exterior is in remarkably good condition the interior is now a fast food restaurant with really not much to see.
Written August 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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