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On July 18, 1776, Bostonians gathered under the balcony of Old State to hear for the first time the Declaration of Independence. It is one of the landmarks on Boston's Freedom Trail and is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. It now serves as a history museum that was operated by the Bostonian Society through 2019. After the American army gained control of Boston from the British in March of 1776, the Old State House became the seat of government for the new state of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Town House: seat of colony government 1713–1776
Don't forget to sit in the Royal Governor's chair inside the newly restored King's Council Chamber and experience what it was like to be the most powerful person in Colonial America. Both Otis and Adams, as well as Adams' cousin Samuel and merchant John Hancock, served as representatives in the Massachusetts provincial legislature. Samuel Adams and James Otis proved to be among some of the most notorious members, arguing for measures which increasingly created friction with the royal governor and his supporters. Dive into the history of the events that took place within and outside this building's wall by visiting the Old State House, stewarded by Revolutionary Spaces. The next stop on Freedom Trail is the site of the Boston Massacre, located on a busy street in front of the museum and commemorated by a cobblestone ring on the plaza in front of the Old State House. The museum offers an array of programming and exhibitions, some tied to the Boston Massacre.
Old State House Clock
In 1830, Isaiah Rogers alters the building's interior in a Greek Revival style, most notably adding the spiral staircase that remains today. The election of John Hancock as the first governor of the new state of Massachusetts is announced from the balcony. Today, standing amid the skyscrapers of downtown Boston, the Old State House tells the story of Boston’s role in the American Revolution and its connection to the American struggle to create and sustain a free society. Operated by Revolutionary Spaces and owned by the City of Boston, the Old State House is a designated a National Historic Landmark, a Boston Landmark, and a site within the Boston National Historical Park on the Freedom Trail. Discover a host of historical sites linked to the American Revolutionary War, from the Freedom Trail to Yorktown Battlefield and more. If travelling via public transport, the nearest stations to Old State House are State Street (Orange/Blue Line), Government Center (Green Line) and Downtown Crossing (Red Line).
Choose to visit Previous or next Sites on the Freedom Trail
The Old State House in Boston played an important role in the American Revolution and is now one of the sites included in the Freedom Trail, a tourist trail made up of sixteen sites relating to the American Revolution against the British. After the American Revolution, the building served as the seat of the Massachusetts state government until 1798, when it moved to the Massachusetts State House.
Revolutionary Character
After the government left, the building was used for offices and stores until 1881. In response, the Bostonian Society was formed to save the building and convert it to a museum. They restored the building to its pre-Revolutionary War appearance, including replicas of the lion and unicorn that were destroyed in 1776. Throughout its history, the courts and city, state, and colonial government met at the Old State House.
The Old State House was originally completed in 1713 and served the multiple functions of being a merchant’s hall and the seat of the colonial government. However, a fire in 1747 meant that it had to be rebuilt to a great extent in 1748 and further restoration and changes were made to the Old State House in 1830. In the cacophony of taunts, screams, and church bells ringing, one of the soldiers was struck. Most of the other soldiers opened fired in response, thinking an order had been given. The captain never gave an order, but as the balls flew through the street, men fell dead and wounded. The first bloodshed of the Revolution fell on to the ice and snow in front of the Old State House.
Period of commercial use 1841–1881
Massachusetts activists to march in Boston calling for action to "end the crisis of death by poverty in the United States." - Fall River Reporter
Massachusetts activists to march in Boston calling for action to "end the crisis of death by poverty in the United States.".
Posted: Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Upon the right and left of the balcony, a lion and unicorn—royal symbols of the King of Great Britain—graced the main façade facing the public square. From this balcony, Bostonians listened to royal proclamations, but here they also heard for the first time the Declaration of Independence, which announced the birth of a new nation. The state government continued to use Old State House until 1798 when they moved to the New State House on Beacon Hill (where the Massachusetts government still meets to this day).
The Bostonian Society was formed in 1881 to preserve and steward the Old State House, in response to plans for the possible demolition of the building due to real estate potential. The entrance to the Old State House is located on the south side of the building, facing the pedestrian walkway, just a few steps off the red brick line of The Freedom Trail. Journey through this Freedom Trail museum filled with a vivid collection of Revolution-era artifacts and other one-of-a-kind objects from the past, each one contributing to the amazing story of Revolutionary Boston. Highlights include John Hancock's lavish red velvet coat, arms and ammunition from Revolutionary War battles, and tea salvaged from the Boston Tea Party.
of the Best Historic Sites in Boston
There are several parking sites in the vicinity of the Old State House, including the Post Office Square Garage, Pi Alley Garage, 75 State Street Garage. Today the Old State House is a museum of Boston’s history managed by the Bostonian Society as well as being part of Boston National Historical Park. Guided tours of the Freedom Trail – of which the State House forms a part – are available, but you can also walk it independently. Explore at your own pace and enjoy tours and performances led by fun, interactive guides or fully-costumed Revolutionary Characters. Discover historic period rooms filled with multi-sensory exhibits, beautiful art and important artifacts. Visit the site of the infamous Boston Massacre, one of the pivotal moments on America’s road to Revolution.
The writs permit customs officials to search for contraband goods without probable cause. Otis makes a four-hour speech in the Council Chamber of the Town House, defending the rights of citizens. The interior of the Town House is rebuilt and the iconic lion and unicorn statues are installed. In 1761, in part of what is known as Paxton’s Case, the Old State House was the scene of James Otis Junior’s famous speech against Writs of Assistance, British warrants which conferred wide search powers on their beneficiaries. Otis’s speech failed to extinguish these writs, but did add to the increasing dissatisfaction which eventually led to the American Revolution.
It remains an important symbol of Boston’s colonial history and is a stop on the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail which connects multiple Revolutionary War sites in Boston together. While the building was saved, the area around the State House was quickly built up. Today the Old State House, once the most prominent building in the area, is dwarfed by numerous skyscrapers and modern buildings and surrounded by busy streets. In 1904, a subway station was placed in the basement of the building, and it continues to be used by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (popularly known as “the T”) to this very day. During this time, the spiral staircase is removed and the interior remodeled several times, while the exterior becomes covered in advertisements and signs.
Revolutionary Spaces brings people together to explore the American struggle to create and sustain a free society, singularly evoked by Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. We steward these buildings as gathering spaces for the open exchange of ideas and the continuing practice of democracy, inspiring all who believe in the power of people to govern themselves. The copper lion and unicorn statues rendered by coppersmith, Moses H. Gulesian are installed. A confrontation between British soldiers and Bostonians takes place in the square in front of the Town House, leaving five people dead and many more wounded. This deadly event came to be known as the “Boston Massacre.” It was some of the first bloodshed in the years before the Revolution and marked a dramatic escalation in the disputes between the British and colonists. James Otis argues against the Writs of Assistance before the Superior Court, marking the first major protest against British laws.
Experience Revolutionary Boston at the Old State House Museum and Boston Massacre Historic Site. Historically, the Old State House was the political, economic, and geographic center of the Massachusetts Bay colony since it was built in 1713, though a structure devoted to government has stood on its site since the mid 17th century. Because of the very ideals of self-government first expressed within the building, The Old State House has played host to the most influential minds that helped shaped the world as we know it today. On a cold March night in 1770, a beleaguered squadron of British soldiers opened fire in the square in front of this royal building, killing five individuals and wounding many others. By the next morning, leaders called the event a "bloody massacre." Six years later, shots were heard again in the square.
Built in 1713, this historic landmark served as the seat of colonial and state governments as well as a merchants’ exchange. After 1798 and the completion of the current Massachusetts State House, the Old State House housed commercial space and offices, at one point housed City Hall, and today a museum to Boston's history. The second floor served as the seat of colonial and later state government throughout the 1700s. The royal governor, appointed by the King of Great Britain, held his office in the building until 1775, and from the balcony he gave voice to the King 3,000 miles removed from London. The governor's stature as surrogate for the crown was underscored by his elevated position upon the balcony which overlooked King Street.
Through Massacre, Revolution, and fire, the Old State House stands as the oldest surviving public building in Boston. Built in 1713, the building served as the center of civic, political, and business life. But perhaps they would also have been pleased to know that eventually we came together again as free peoples and friends to defend together the very ideals for which the American Revolution was fought. The iconic lion and unicorn statues atop the east parapets of the Old State House are repaired. The Declaration of Independence is read by Colonel Thomas Crafts for the first time in Boston from the balcony of the Old State House. The brick Town House is built in 1713, replacing the previous wooden Town House, which had burned in a fire in 1711.
The incident began with local boys taunting a British sentry on a cold March night. Mobs of laborers, sailors, and others of "the lower sort" joined into the confrontation. A detachment of seven soldiers under command of a Captain eventually emerged on the scene to rescue the beleaguered sentry. When they crossed the square to reach him, the crowd formed around them and the captain had the men draw into a small perimeter, muskets loaded. The Old State House is today a popular tourist destination and still operated as a museum by a group called Revolutionary Spaces.
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