Haymarket (Boston)

Haymarket - Boston
Market (place)
View of Haymarket - Boston
Featuresproduce and seafood market
Opening dateFriday and Saturday
ManagerHaymarket Pushcart Association
LocationBoston
Blackstone St between Hanover and North Sts
Coordinates: 42°21′41.7″N 71°3′21.9″W / 42.361583°N 71.056083°W / 42.361583; -71.056083
WebsiteHaymarket

Haymarket in Boston is an open-air market on Blackstone, Hanover, and North Streets, next to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway between the North End and Government Center.

Location of Haymarket pushcart vendors shown in blue on a map of downtown Boston.

The market is operated by the Haymarket Pushcart Association.[1][2] The association traces its history to 1820, and formally organized in 1974 to negotiate with the city on issues such as waste removal and traffic.[3] The roughly 50[4]: 42  Haymarket vendors sell fruit, vegetables, and seafood at very low prices.[5][6]: 26  The market offers "produce its vendors obtain from wholesale distribution terminals north of Boston,"[6]: 6  primarily the New England Produce Center[7] in Chelsea.[4]: 34  Prices are low because the wholesale markets need to make room for new shipments arriving over the weekend.[4]: 45 [8][9]

The market is open from 6AM to 7PM[10] every Friday and Saturday.[4]: 32 [11] On Saturday nights nearing the 7 pm closing deadline, vendors often liquidate any remaining inventory selling whatever they have left for pennies on the dollar.[12] The market's location and days of operation were established by a 1952 state law[13] and by a 1978 city ordinance.[14] Vendors are licensed[4]: 41  by the City of Boston Inspectional Services Department.[15]

The market is adjacent to the MBTA station of the same name, which is served by two subway lines and many bus routes. Inexpensive validated parking for Haymarket shoppers is available at the Parcel 7 Garage.[16] The discount was created as a "mitigation" measure for the impact of the Big Dig highway project on Haymarket.[17]: 9 

A study conducted for the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2009 by the Project for Public Spaces found that "Haymarket attracts one of the most diverse populations of any market we have worked on. ... Customers include almost every imaginable ethnic group and income level. Haymarket is the primary place where most of its shoppers buy produce and it serves a vital role in the Boston food distribution system."[6]: 21  In 2015, two Johns Hopkins University graduate students proposed the creation in Baltimore of a market modeled after Haymarket, to address the problems of food going to waste and the lack of access to fresh produce in low-income communities.[18]

  1. ^ Haymarket Pushcart Association. "Haymarket - Boston". Facebook. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Haymarket". Haymarket Pushcart Association. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. ^ Sales, Bob (23 November 1974). "200-year-old 'pushcart club' finds it's time to organize". Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference LempelBook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Brosnahan, Tom. "Haymarket Square, Boston MA". New England Travel Planner. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Project for Public Spaces. "Boston Market District Feasibility Study, January 2009". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  7. ^ "New England Produce Center". Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  8. ^ Michel, Fabiola (10 April 2012). "Carrots, characters, and cheeses, oh my!". The Tech Online Edition. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  9. ^ Jahnke, Rebecca. "Despite Differences in Values, Neighboring Markets Thrive". Boston University News Service. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Haymarket - Boston". Facebook. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Haymarket: Boston's Historic Market". Boston Discovery Guide. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Marketing Tips". Haymarket Boston. 2 October 2014.
  13. ^ Secretary of the Commonwealth. "1952 Chap. 0504. An Act Providing For The Setting Aside Of An Area On Blackstone Street In The City Of Boston For The Use Of Hawkers And Peddlers". General laws passed by the General Court of Massachusetts. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Chapter 17-3 HAYMARKET-BLACKSTONE MARKET". City of Boston Municipal Code. American Legal Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Inspectional Services Department". City of Boston. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Park". NorthEndBoston.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goodstein was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Pearce, Katie (29 July 2015). "Fresh idea: Use surplus food from wholesalers to help address Baltimore's 'food deserts'". JHU.edu: The Hub. Retrieved 18 February 2016.