Renovated Faneuil Hall Gets A New Visitor Center

Boston's Faneuil Hall reopens Friday with a ribbon-cutting to celebrate renovations and the historic building's new visitor center.

The Associated Press reports:

The new enhanced facility includes interactive exhibits, an audio-visual orientation program, handicapped-accessible public restrooms and a bookstore.

The space also includes 7,400 square feet for visitor services and community meeting space.

The renovation, which resulted from a collaboration between the city and the National Park Service, cost $7 million.

The reopening will include a demonstration of a new National Park Service app for navigating Boston's historic sites. The app, NPS Boston, will be free to download on iTunes and Android.

The Boston Globe reports that "[t]he Grand Hall area, where the mayor delivers the annual State of the City address, was not renovated because it was not needed."

Faneuil Hall has been a Boston meeting hall and marketplace since 1742.

Update at 3:30 p.m.: Faneuil Hall has been reopened.

During the ceremony, Peter O'Sullivan, the renovation's manager, lauded the project.

"This is a great day in the city of Boston," he said, according to our Newscast unit. "This is arguably — probably — the most historic building in the country. And then it’s created probably about 100 jobs. Everyone is very proud of being part of the project."