The Printing Office of Edes and Gill

The Printing Office of Edes and Gill sits on Unity Street in Boston's Government Center neighborhood, steps from Faneuil Hall. This working museum preserves the original print shop where the Boston Gazette was produced during the American Revolution. If you want to understand how news shaped a nation, this narrow brick building offers something most history museums don't: the actual tools, the actual space, and often a demonstration of how 18th century printers worked.

Walking through the doorway feels like stepping into 1775. The shop occupies the ground floor of a building dating to the 1700s, and the equipment inside isn't a replica. You'll see the wooden hand press, the type cases, the inking balls, and the paper stocks that Benjamin Edes and John Gill used to publish some of the most inflammatory political content of the colonial era. Their newspaper didn't just report events. It shaped opinion and mobilized readers toward independence.

Why this place matters

The Boston Gazette wasn't neutral. Edes and Gill printed the accounts of the Boston Massacre. They published the articles that outraged colonists over taxation without representation. They operated the press that made their newspaper essential reading for anyone who wanted to understand what was happening in Boston. The printing office itself became a target. British soldiers ransacked it. The shop was seized. Yet it survived.

Today, the Printing Office matters because it shows how information worked before the internet, television, or radio. A handful of people with a printing press could influence thousands. The physical act of typesetting, inking, and pressing a sheet of paper was labor intensive and skilled work. Seeing it done by hand makes that real in a way that reading about it never does.

Quick facts

• Located at 21 Unity Street in Government Center, Boston
• Operated as a working print shop by Edes and Gill from the 1760s through the American Revolution
• The building dates to around the 1700s and retains period-appropriate interior details
• Open to visitors most days, though hours vary seasonally
• No admission fee required to enter and view the shop
• Staff and volunteers often demonstrate hand printing techniques on-site
• Approximately 15 to 20 minutes of walking from Downtown Crossing

Getting there

The Printing Office is easiest to reach by subway. Take the Blue or Green Line to Government Center station. Exit toward City Hall Plaza, then walk east toward Faneuil Hall. Unity Street runs between the Haymarket area and Dock Square. If you're coming from the waterfront, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is the landmark to orient yourself. The shop sits a short walk away.

Street parking in this neighborhood tends to be competitive. Most visitors use the nearby parking garages under the Government Center complex or along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. If you're driving, allow extra time to find a spot rather than circling.

The layout and experience

The shop is small and narrow, the way commercial spaces were in the 1700s. You enter directly into the work area where the printing happened. The hand press dominates the room. Type cases line the walls at chest height, organized by font and size. The space is tight enough that you understand how the work was physical and close quarters.

If a volunteer or staff member is present, they typically offer to demonstrate the press or explain the process. Watching someone pull a lever to press inked type onto paper makes the mechanics visible. It's slower than you'd expect and requires real strength. The demonstrations aren't long lectures. They're conversational explanations of how the shop actually functioned as a business.

The walls display facsimiles of the Boston Gazette and other publications Edes and Gill printed. You can read the actual articles they produced. Some are calls to action that directly contributed to the Revolutionary cause. Others are advertisements, death notices, and shipping information that give texture to daily colonial life.

Main highlights

The hand press itself is the centerpiece. It's a wooden screw press with an iron frame, the kind that would have been expensive and essential to the business. Seeing how much force is required to make an impression shows why this was skilled, valuable work.

The type cases are worth studying if you're interested in printing history. The letters are cast metal, arranged in compartments that trained compositors could work from by feel and memory. Setting type for a full page took hours of careful work. Any mistakes meant removing and replacing individual letters, then resetting.

The facsimiles of the Boston Gazette give you the actual words Edes and Gill published. These aren't sanitized excerpts. You're reading the language they chose to use, the stories they chose to highlight, and the advertisements that kept the business solvent. The newspaper was how they made money. The political content was their contribution to the cause they believed in.

History and background

Benjamin Edes and John Gill established their printing office in Boston in the 1760s. They weren't the only printers in town, but they became the most influential. Their Boston Gazette grew in circulation because Edes and Gill were willing to publish content that other printers wouldn't risk. They were close to the Sons of Liberty and understood the market for news that challenged British authority.

In 1775, as tensions escalated, the shop became a target. British soldiers occupied Boston. The printing office was seized and its press was damaged. Edes fled to Watertown with some of his equipment and continued publishing from there. After the British withdrew from Boston, the shop reopened and operated through the war and beyond.

John Gill died in 1785. Benjamin Edes continued running the business for several more decades. The shop changed hands and purposes over the 19th and 20th centuries but survived the massive urban renewal that transformed much of Boston's downtown. Today it operates as a museum managed by dedicated volunteers and staff who maintain both the building and the printing equipment.

Tickets and entry

There is no admission charge to enter the Printing Office. It's free and open to the public. Hours vary depending on the season and volunteer availability, so it's wise to check before you visit. Some days will have staff or volunteers present to explain the equipment and answer questions. Other times you may have access to the space for self-guided viewing.

The shop is small enough that you can spend as much or as little time as you want. Some people spend 10 minutes looking around. Others stay for 30 or 40 minutes if someone is there to demonstrate the press or discuss the history in depth.

Best time to visit

The Printing Office is open year-round, but foot traffic tends to be lighter on weekday afternoons. If you want to see a demonstration or have time to talk with someone knowledgeable about the shop, weekday visits tend to offer more interaction. Weekends and mornings are busier, especially during the peak summer tourism season.

The shop has no climate control beyond what a 1700s building naturally offers. In summer it can be warm. In winter it's cold. Neither condition is extreme, but it's worth knowing if you're visiting in the extremes of the year.

Photography tips

The interior is lit by windows and period-appropriate fixtures, so the light is soft and often directional. Bring a camera that performs well in lower light if you want clear images of the type cases or press mechanism. The facsimiles of the Boston Gazette are well-displayed and photograph clearly from a slight angle to avoid glare.

The exterior of the building photographs well from across Unity Street or from the corner near Dock Square. The brick facade and the narrow street frontage give good context for understanding how the building fits into the neighborhood's historic fabric.

Facilities and preparation

The shop is small and has no restrooms on-site. Public restrooms are available at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, about a 5-minute walk away. There's no cafe or gift shop in the office itself, but the surrounding area has plenty of options for food and drinks.

The space is not wheelchair accessible due to the age of the building and the narrow interior layout. There are a few steps at the entrance. If you have mobility concerns, you may want to contact the shop in advance to discuss what's visible from the doorway or nearby.

Combining with nearby attractions

The Printing Office is well-positioned for combining with other nearby sites. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are across the street. The Rose Kennedy Greenway runs nearby and offers walking paths with public art installations. The Old State House is about a 10-minute walk southeast, and the Old South Meeting House is a similar distance south.

The Haymarket area has historic connections to the Revolutionary period and retains some of its character as a marketplace. The Copp's Hill Burying Ground is about 15 minutes north on foot if you're interested in colonial-era gravesites. The nearby waterfront and the New England Aquarium are other nearby draws for different interests.

Sample visit plan

If you're in the area for a few hours, you could start at Faneuil Hall, then spend 20 to 30 minutes at the Printing Office. Walk south to the Old State House or north toward the Haymarket. Combine it with a walk along the Rose Kennedy Greenway if you want a longer outing. If you're doing a full day of Revolutionary War history, add the Old South Meeting House and Paul Revere House to the itinerary.

Practical tips

• Check hours before you visit, as they can vary by season and volunteer availability
• Go on a weekday afternoon if you want a quieter visit and better chance of staff interaction
• Bring a camera if you want good photos, as the interior lighting is natural and soft
• Wear comfortable walking shoes, as the neighborhood has many cobblestone and brick streets
• Ask a staff member or volunteer to demonstrate the hand press if you're interested in how it worked
• Allow time to read the facsimiles of the Boston Gazette carefully, not just skim them
• Visit Faneuil Hall afterward if you want to spend more time in the area

FAQ

Is the Printing Office the same as the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum? No, they are separate sites. The Printing Office is a small museum of Benjamin Edes and John Gill's print shop. The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum is a larger, ticketed attraction nearby that focuses on the tea party event itself.

Can I buy something printed at the Printing Office? The shop occasionally produces printed items as demonstrations or special projects, but there is no regular retail operation. It's a museum, not a functioning print business open to commission work.

How long does a typical visit take? Most visits last 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how much you read and whether someone is available to demonstrate the press or answer questions in depth.

Is it worth visiting if I'm not interested in Revolutionary War history? If you're interested in how printing worked before modern technology, or how information was made and distributed in the pre-industrial era, yes. The mechanical and craft aspects are interesting regardless of the historical context.