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Click on the post card for the full history of Exchange Hall
Click on the photo for a letter with some history
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Truly an elegant structure,
the historic 1860 Exchange Hall is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places and is one of Acton's most important buildings both
historically and architecturally, as an elaborate example of the
Bracketed-Italianate style architecture.
For over 150 years, Exchange
Hall has been a vital part of the economic and social life of Acton.
Acton was a dancing town and the third floor was intended for community
use.
Exchange Hall provided a
meetinghouse for South Acton's first religious society from 1861-1878,
and hosted lectures by Henry David Thoreau in the 1860's and Henry Ward
Beecher in the 1870's. It was
the site of many visits by John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, ex-mayor of
Boston, congressman and grandfather of President Kennedy. Honey Fitz
sang "Sweet Adeline" from the hall stage on many occasions. He and Mary
Josephine "Josie" Hannon, from Acton, were the parents of Rose
Fitzgerald Kennedy.
With the building's
restoration in 2009, Exchange Hall continues the tradition by offering
the hall for private or public dances, social gatherings, concerts,
lectures and classes. A spring dance floor, installed in the late
1800's, has never needed repair.
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Exchange Hall • 2 School Street • Acton, MA 01720 • 978-263-8500 info@exchangehall.com
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