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In January 1974, the
gilded grasshopper weathervane atop
Faneuil Hall was stolen. The theft made national headlines. During the oil
crisis and subsequent recession of 1974-75, historic treasures and art thefts
significantly increased. It was believed that the stolen weathervane would
fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black market at the time.
The police initially stated the 80-pound copper grasshopper was stolen
with the use of a helicopter. The publicity of the Faneuil Hall theft
actually helped to recover other famous
weathervanes in the country that were missing or stolen.
A few days after the theft, a man was arrested in Abington on an unrelated offense. He tried to make a
plea bargain by stating he
knew the whereabouts of the missing weathervane. His lawyer was then
interviewed by Boston Police detective Paul Carroll Sr. It turned out the
man was a steeplejack, and had worked on Faneuil Hall in 1967. The gilded grasshopper was
recovered two days later.
The grasshopper-napper or vane-napper, had hidden the historic
weathervane in the attic of Faneuil Hall, with the presumed intention of
holding it for ransom. The vane had been damaged in the theft, and was repaired
and placed back atop Fanueil Hall on July 27th 1974.
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