This photo is of William Reynolds. William Reynolds was the owner of Corinthian Hall and was also an abolitionist.

During Corinthian Hall’s time period, it helped stop oppression for slaves and freedom seekers. Corinthian Hall held many speeches, one of them on the fifth of July. This speech was given by Frederick Douglas and it made a very big dent in slavery’s history. Frederick Douglas made people think about what and how slavery was wrong. This speech was called “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.”

Many other events that happened at Corinthian Hall were that William Reynolds nearly rented Corinthian Hall to abolitionists twice. He tried to rent it out the second time in 1861, but William didn’t rent Corinthian Hall to the abolitionists even though he rented it to other people. The state government was afraid there would be a riot so William didn’t rent it to abolitionists again. Even though Reynolds rented the hall to abolitionists he wouldn’t allow it to be a safe house, for it was a very busy place for public. There were many other speeches and conventions at Corinthian Hall opposing slavery too. Some of the other speeches at Corinthian Hall were given by Henry Wilson, Susan B. Anthony and William Lloyd Garrison. Anthony and Garrison gave a speech together and their speech gathered quite a crowd.

There were also some conventions concerning woman’s rights at Corinthian Hall. For example one was given by Mary Post Hallowell who spoke and attended many conventions at Corinthian Hall concerning slavery and all woman’s rights.

There were many other conventions and performances at Corinthian Hall. For example in 1851 Jenny Lind (a very popular singer in this time period) sang at Corinthian Hall. And other speeches given by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1852, Horace Greely in 1854, and William H. Seward in 1857. These speeches were all attended most generously.

At the end of Corinthian Hall’s long stand as a building it had served well as a popular stage performance theatre, key place for abolitionists, and many other well-attended conventions and speeches. After William Reynolds died Corinthian Hall, being empty, burned down by a fire in 1899. Corinthian Hall was rebuilt and turned into a very successful theatre that closed down in 1929 and got demolished by a very ambitious demolition crew. Then it was turned into a parking lot that still exists today. Yet many people still go to the site to cherish all the help the building and all of its helpers accomplished.

Related Links:
Reynolds Arcade