Old Corner Bookstore
- Year
- 1828
- City
- Boston, MA
The Old Corner Bookstore sits at the northwest corner of Washington and School streets in Downtown Boston, on a site that once held the home of Anne Hutchinson before it burned in the Great Boston Fire of 1711. Owner Thomas Crease rebuilt the corner in 1718 as a residence and apothecary shop, and in 1829 Timothy Harrington Carter leased the space and added two annexes on School Street, launching it as a bookstore and cementing its role in Boston's literary history.
the building
Four buildings, one facade. What reads as a single corner building is actually four attached structures: the 1718 corner building at 283 Washington Street plus annexes at 277 Washington Street and 5–7 and 11 School Street, the latter two added by bookseller Timothy Harrington Carter in 1829.
significance
Built on the former site of Anne Hutchinson's house, the Old Corner Bookstore is a stop on Boston's Freedom Trail, Literary Trail, and Women's Heritage Trail. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was approved as an individual Boston Landmark (#106) by the Boston Landmarks Commission on May 13, 2025.
nearby
- Old South Meeting House
- Old City Hall
- King's Chapel
- McCormack Federal Bldg/Post Office/Courthse
- International Trust Company Building
- Old State House