The city of Boston will spend $3.8 million to renovate Historic Faneuil Hall this winter. The historic building, which has served as a meeting place for American revolutionaries and civil rights pioneers for 275 years, will undergo what the city says are much-needed upgrades.

Historic Faneuil Hall sits adjacent to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The historic building will remain closed until spring 2018, while the mix of retail and dining at Quincy, North and South Markets will stay open. Boston National Parks now operates the hall as a visitor center, which will close to the public on Dec. 31 at 6 p.m.

While the building is under renovation in January, Ranger staff will host a pop-up Visitor Center at 15 State Street. The temporary center will offer maps, books and expert advice from the Ranger staff.

According to the city, the building is in need of repairs to meet Building Code requirements. It has been 25 years since electrical and mechanical fixes were made to the hall.

This time around, plans include making the building more handicap-accessible. A new handicap chair lift will be installed for the Great Hall stage, and an old elevator will be completely replaced. Plans also include a major renovation of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

The nearly three-century-old building's fire alarm system will also be upgraded. Faneuil Hall already experienced one devastating fire in 1761. New control panels will bring the current system up to code, according to the city.

The Faneuil Hall building was completed in 1742 as a gift from Peter Faneuil, a wealthy merchant who emigrated from France and settled in the New York Colony. Originally intended to be a market, the addition of an upper event hall became home to town government meetings and banquets.

It too became a central meeting space during the heat of the American Revolutionary Period. Faneuil Hall held "meetings of the body," or men who wanted to participate in defiant acts like the Boston Tea Party.

The whopping renovation project is estimated to cost the city a combined $3.8 million. According to the Office of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the design contract with CSS Architects -- a firm that has worked on Faneuil Hall before -- cost $386,730, while the construction contract with J.F. White Contracting Co. cost $3,449,000.