East India Marine Hall

East India Marine Hall. Dedicated 1825. , East India Marine Hall was constructed as the first permanent home of the East India Marine Society, which is the founding institution of the Peabody Essex Museum., Designed by Boston architect Thomas Waldron Sumner, the hall was formally dedicated on October 14, 1825, with a lavish dinner attended by President John Quincy Adams and numerous American dignitaries., Between 1825 and 1867, the society rented the first floor to businesses such as the Asiatic Bank and the Oriental Insurance Company, whose names are chiseled on the granite facade., The second floor contained the society's museum. When the hall opened, the Essex Register wrote that it was "as chaste and beautiful a specimen of architecture as our country can exhibit," filled with "the rare and curious productions of nature and art from the four quarters of the globe.", This 11-foot, 4,450-pound naval anchor was first installed in front of the hall in 1906. Since an anchor was the emblem of the East India Marine Society, it was a particularly appropriate symbol. East India Marine Hall was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966., Stop in for a visit today!