Statue of Samuel Adams

Standing on a polished Quincy granite pedestal in Faneuil Hall Plaza, this 1880 bronze monument by Anne Whitney captures Samuel Adams in a determined posture. The work was commissioned by the City of Boston, building on the success of Whitney's earlier marble version created for the U.S. Capitol. It depicts the Founding Father with arms crossed, a gesture of defiance against British colonial rule following the Boston Massacre as he demanded the removal of troops. The statue serves as a visible landmark along Congress Street, though its appearance sometimes shifts when local visitors decide to add an improvised accessory like a traffic cone to his head.