Old State House (Boston)

Old State House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Looking southwest in 2013
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Location	206 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates	42°21′31.57″N 71°3′28.1″W / 42.3587694°N 71.057806°W / 42.3587694; -71.057806
Area	28,000 square feet (2,600 m2)[2]
Built	1713 (1713)
Architect	Repairs and alternations: Thomas Dawes (c. 1772) Alterations: Isaiah Rogers (1830) Restoration: George Albert Clough (1881–1882) Renovation: Joseph Everett Chandler (1902) Renovation: Goody, Clancy and Associates (1991)[3]
Architectural style	Georgian
Part of	Boston National Historical Park[4] (ID74002222[5])
NRHP reference No.	66000779[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	October 9, 1960
Designated CP	October 26, 1974[5]

The Old State House (also the Court House, Second Town House, Province House, or Old Provincial State House) is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Completed in 1713, it was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature, until 1798. It is the city's oldest extant public building and one of the country's oldest public buildings.^[6] At 65 feet (20 meters), it was also the tallest building in Boston until 1745.

Originally known as the Second Town House, the building replaces the First Town House on the same site, which burned down in 1711. The Second Town House was itself rebuilt after being gutted by fire in 1747. The state legislature moved to the New State House in 1798, after which the Old State House was used by the municipal government. It was used as Boston's city hall after Isaiah Rogers refurbished the structure in 1830. After a new city hall opened in 1841, the structure was used by commercial tenants for four decades. George A. Clough renovated the Old State House in 1881–1882, following threats of demolition, and the Bostonian Society took over much of the building. The Old State House underwent additional renovations in 1907, 1943, and the 1990s.

One of the landmarks on Boston's Freedom Trail, the Old State House stands at the intersection of Washington and State streets and now serves as a history museum. The building is designated a National Historic Landmark and a Boston Landmark.

The Old State House is located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.^[7][8] It is bounded by Washington Street to the west; State Street to the north; the intersection of State, Devonshire, and Congress streets to the east; and another building to the south.^[9] The site slopes down to the east.^[10] An entrance to the State station of the MBTA subway is underneath the building.^[11] East of the building is a cobblestone memorial marker commemorating the 1770 Boston Massacre, which took place nearby;^[12] it formerly occupied a traffic island just to the east, at the corner of Devonshire and State streets,^[13][14] but since 2011 has been located right outside the building.^[15] The Old State House is adjoined by One Boston Place to the west, the Ames Building and 28 State Street to the north, the Second Brazer Building to the southeast, and the Merchants Exchange building to the east (across Congress Street).^[9] The Old State House is a stop on the Freedom Trail, a path connecting historic sites in Boston.^[16][17]

The site has been used by the public since 1634, when a public market was built there.^[18] Washington Street was the only link to Boston's Shawmut Peninsula before the peninsula was expanded via land reclamation.^[19][20] State Street, then known as King Street,^[19][21] ran east to Long Wharf.^[19][20] The wooden First Town House, developed by Thomas Joy,^[22] was built on the Old State House's site in 1658 and burned in the fire of 1711.^[18][23]

The modern Old State House was built on the site of the First Town House^[21][24] and is Boston's oldest extant public building.^[25] Over the years, the Old State House has been known by multiple names, including the Town House in Boston,^[26] Keayne's Town House,^[27] Second Town House, Province House, Court House,^[24][a] Old Provincial State House,^[28] or City Hall,^[26] Although the current structure's exterior dates from 1713, both the interior and exterior have been modified several times over the years.^[29]

After the First Town House burned down, the governments of the town of Boston, Suffolk County, and Massachusetts Bay Province lacked a meeting place. Town and provincial officials quickly agreed to erect a new building on the same site,^[30] and a committee was established in 1712 to construct a building of up to 36 feet (11 m) wide and 110 to 112 feet (34 to 34 m) long.^[21] The project was budgeted at 5,000 Massachusetts pounds.^[24] Based on the anticipated interior usage, the province paid half the cost, while the town and county paid one-fourth each.^[18][23][24] Samuel Sewall laid the cornerstone of the new building that May.^[24][30] William Payne built the Second Town House; the designer is not known,^[24] but Robert Twelves is sometimes credited.^[12] Thomas Dawes has also been cited as the architect, but his contributions date from 1772.^[31][32] The Massachusetts General Court, the provincial legislature, had moved into the building by April 1713, when its first session took place there.^[24][30]

The layout differed in several respects from the First Town House due to changes in political organization.^[23] The basement was at least partially rented out,^[33] and the town government collected rental income from the basement spaces.^[34] The building housed a merchants' exchange on the first floor,^[24][35] although, unlike the former building's open-air ground-level market, this space was enclosed.^[23] The first floor also had records rooms for the county and province, and it had a post office at one point,^[24][36] along with two staircases ascending to the second floor.^[35] Stair lobbies separate that floor into three primary spaces,^[36] each housing one of the three branches of government.^[37] From west to east, these were the Suffolk County and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court courtrooms; the General Court legislative chamber; and the Council Chamber of the Royal Governor.^[24][35][38] The central chamber was also used by Boston's selectmen.^[24][34] On the third floor were committee rooms for the selectmen.^[24][34] It is unknown how the attic was used.^[33]

There are no extant images of the full exterior as it originally appeared,^[30][35] though parts of the structure are shown in engravings of Boston overall.^[24][30] The original design likely appeared similar to the modern building,^[35] with oxeye windows, stepped gables, and a balcony.^[36][39] There was an octagonal tower with a bird-shaped weathervane.^[30][40] A 1743 view showed steps ascending to double doors on the eastern elevation of the facade,^[36] and there was also a sundial.^[41] Lion and unicorn motifs, representing the British, were installed between 1743 and 1751.^[42] At 65 feet (20 meters), the Second Town House was the tallest building in Boston until 1745,^[43] when it was surpassed by the 175-foot (53 m) Old North Church in the city's North End.^[44]

The Second Town House was used for government business, announcements, and ceremonies, including welcoming parties for new provincial governors.^[38][45] Politicians hosted commemorations and parties in the council room; announcements were made from the balcony; and (in at least one case) forgers were publicly humiliated on the steps below.^[38][39] The town's selectmen moved their meetings to the new Faneuil Hall in 1742.^[35][46] Colonists sometimes convened to protest provincial government actions,^[45] requiring frequent window repairs.^[47] A riot took place there in November 1747 after British leaders tried to "impress" colonists into serving in the British military.^[45][33]

The Second Town House was gutted by fire on December 9, 1747,^[48][49] after sparks from a first-floor hearth spread rapidly.^[50] The blaze destroyed all goods and records inside;^[51] the exterior brick walls survived the fire,^[51] and the window openings were quickly boarded up.^[49][50] Provincial meetings were temporarily relocated to Faneuil Hall.^[52] The provincial government considered relocating to another Massachusetts town or to present-day Maine,^[37][45] but by March 1748 had decided to rebuild on the same site.^[50] The modifications were budgeted at about 3,705 Massachusetts pounds, of which the province was to pay half, and the county and town would pay the rest.^[50] The town government, having moved most business to Faneuil Hall, unsuccessfully asked the General Court to waive the town's share of the costs.^[45][50] The modifications were completed within a year of the fire.^[53] The first exterior views specifically focusing on the building date from shortly afterward, in 1751.^[53][54]

The interior was rebuilt likely according to the original plan,^[45][53][55] although specific drawings of the layout have not emerged.^[55] Details of the first-floor space are scarce,^[56] but the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts sometimes used it for drills.^[56][57] Though Captain Francis Goelet wrote in 1750 that the first floor was open to the elements, later historians wrote that he was likely talking about Faneuil Hall.^[58] Two staircases ascended to lobbies between three second-floor rooms—from west to east, the Court, Representatives' and Council chambers.^{[55][59][60][b]} The third floor housed committee rooms and offices,^[61] while the basement was rented out.^[57][63] The exterior was altered: The gambrel roof was replaced by a gable roof, the octagonal tower was replaced by a tiered square tower, and the parapet on the eastern end was adorned with lion and unicorn figures.^[61][64] Beneath the eastern parapet, new laws were announced from a small balcony.^[61] For nearly a century afterward, significant modifications were mostly confined to the interior;^[64] the roof design persisted until 1870.^[53]

For the most part, the 1750s at the Town House were uneventful.^[63] During this time, the building featured portraits of British royals and notable Bostonians, along with maps.^[63][65] The Cape Ann earthquake of 1755 did not damage the building, but a later study found that it was structurally vulnerable to north–south transverse forces.^[66] The third-floor space had been subdivided no later than 1756, when its western end was designated as the General Court's committee room.^[67] When Faneuil Hall burned down in 1761, the town government temporarily returned to the Town House.^[50][68] Judicial activities were moved to a new courthouse in 1767^[62] or 1769.^[69]

By the mid-1760s, there was growing pro-independence sentiment.^[70][71] This created friction between the legislative and executive branches, both of which met on the second floor.^[71] A visitor gallery was added on the western side of the Representatives' Chamber in 1766^[58][62][72] or 1767.^[70][73] The gallery was built by Thomas Crafts^[62] at the behest of Massachusetts House of Representatives clerk Samuel Adams.^[70][73] This may have been the first public gallery in a legislative room in the United States.^[58][74]

In response to protests about taxes,^[75] the British government sent troops to Boston in September 1768 and pointed weaponry at the Town House's front door, prompting the General Court to move to Faneuil Hall.^[62][76] The legislature, refusing to convene at the Town House while British troops were present, temporarily moved to Cambridge in 1769.^[69][76] The British used the building as a military barracks during that time,^[70][77] moving into the first floor.^[75] The balcony was likely fixed by mid-1770.^[67] Once the troops had left in late 1772,^[70] the General Court moved back to the building.^[77] Renovations took place the next year.^[67][78][79] These modifications involved the "taking down the East End and rebuilding",^[67] along with repainting the exterior.^[42][78][79] The first use of the name "State House" dates from this time.^[58]

In November 1755, Spencer Phips, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, signed a bounty hunting proclamation calling on settlers to hunt and murder the native Penobscot.^[80][81] Phips's proclamation inspired a 2021 documentary, where descendants of the Penobscot read the proclamation aloud at the building.^[81][82] Pro-independence activities were organized at the Town House.^[45][71] In 1761, James Otis argued against the Writs of Assistance before the judges in the Council Chamber; he lost the case, but influenced public opinion in favor of the American Revolution.^[25][75] John Adams later wrote of that speech, "Then and there ... the child independence was born."^[83][84]

When the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson stood on the building's balcony, ordering colonists to return to their homes.^[67][85] The building also hosted court proceedings, including the 1769 trial of the four men who hijacked the frigate Rose, as well as the trial of the officers involved in the Boston Massacre the next year.^[86] Massachusetts's last colonial governor, Thomas Gage, took office at the Second Town House in 1774.^[87] after which declining relations with Britain led to the American Revolutionary War.^[88]

On July 18, 1776, two weeks after the United States declared independence, the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony to jubilant crowds, who tore down and burned the lion and unicorn atop the building.^{[c][42][75][88]} These features were replaced by scrolls,^[88] close copies of the ones at the western end.^[90] That October, the state government bought the Court Chamber from the county to make space for the House of Representatives, whose membership had grown following U.S. independence.^[62] The stair lobby separating the Court and Representatives' chambers was removed to create an expanded Representatives' Chamber,^[57][58][72] and the stair itself was relocated.^[56][91] The Massachusetts Senate occupied the Council Chamber,^{[58][63][72][d]} while the first floor continued to be used by merchants.^[93] State legislators first convened at the building on November 7, 1776,^[94] and the former Town House became the Massachusetts State House.^[72][93] The Governor's Council and the Governor's, Secretary's, and Treasurer's offices were relocated to the Province House.^[93]

Massachusetts's first state governor, John Hancock, was inaugurated at the State House in 1780,^[87] as were all governors succeeding him for 18 years.^[75][93] The Constitution of Massachusetts was adopted there that year.^[75][93] The building also hosted services for the Old South Church's congregation in 1781–1782,^[93] along with events such as a 1782 reception for French troops^[75] and the 1788 Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts.^[95] A temporary triumphal arch designed by Charles Bulfinch was built west of the building, celebrating newly-elected President George Washington's visit to the town in 1789.^[42][96] During that visit, Washington observed a procession in his honor from the building's balcony;^[75][87] the arch was demolished shortly thereafter, no later than 1793.^[97]

Modifications to the building itself included changes to the windows in 1782^[42][98] and the establishment of a treasurer's office below the Council Chamber in 1787, where that office remained for five years.^[63] More work was done in 1788–1789, including the installation of stone steps, an iron balustrade, and replacement windows.^[42][98] By then, the second-floor legislative chambers were overcrowded.^[93] The first floor hosted the Court of Common Pleas and the Supreme Judicial Court's clerks, and it sheltered merchants during inclement weather.^[63] The state government approved a plan in 1793, which would give the existing State House to the town if a new State House were built.^[99] Bulfinch designed the new Massachusetts State House,^[78][100] to which the legislature was relocated on January 11, 1798.^[72][93][99] By that year, the Old State House was used as a departure point for horse-drawn carriages to outlying towns, a use that continued until 1809.^[101]

For several years after the new State House opened, there was uncertainty as to how the Old State House should be used;^[78][101] a late-19th-century source wrote that the building was left abandoned and was targeted by troublemakers.^[102] The town of Boston bought the county's and state's ownership stakes in 1803,^[72][100] paying $6,000 for the property.^{[I][e][78][101]} The selectmen opted not to sell the building, saying that "the purposes for which it might and probably would be occupied" would worsen congestion nearby, as the streets were of inadequate width.^[101][105] Instead, the town government sought to lease the building under terms that prevented alterations without the selectmen's approval;^[102][106] later sources described the lease terms as "an early form of preservation restriction".^[101][107] Possibly around this time, the first floor underwent several changes, including removal of doorways and steps.^[108] Charles Bulfinch's wife wrote in 1804 that the structure had been turned into stores, which sold a wide variety of merchandise "to draw attention of the young and gay".^{[101][107][109]}

Initially, the basement was used as a wine cellar, and the second floor housed the Boston Board of Health and a fencing school.^[101][109] The first floor had shops^[109] and was, at least in 1800, also occupied by Supreme Judicial Court clerks.^[101] There were two lawyers and eight merchants in the Old State House by 1805, and there were nineteen total tenants by 1810.^[101] Among them were William Barry, a hatmaker who moved into the building in 1807.^[108][107] A c. 1815 engraving by Abel Bowen of the building's western end shows two first-floor windows, flanked by two doors.^[107][108] A clock was added sometime between 1817 and 1825,^[110] and windows in the basement and a doorway on the north elevation were also added around that time.^[108]

Between 1820 and 1829, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts occupied the third floor and the eastern portion of the second floor.^[100][109] The portion of the second floor occupied by the Grand Lodge was decorated elaborately,^[110][111] while Boston's treasurer used a room at the western end of that floor.^[110] A proposal to replace the building with a bank branch was put forth in 1822,^[100] and the city government painted the facade white in 1825.^[110] There was another proposal to destroy the building the next year,^[100] when the Washington Monument Association suggested replacing it with a monument to George Washington, saying the Old State House was a hindrance to traffic.^[109][112] This was not carried out, and neither was an 1828 proposal to cover the brickwork with imitation stone.^[113] The Old State House was used by offices and businesses until 1830.^[72][100][f] Retrospectively, one commentator described the building as having undergone "dreadful degradation" during the early 19th century.^[111]

The newly-established Boston city government began looking to relocate the city's post office and newsroom to the Old State House in 1829, and the Boston City Council leased the first floor and one upper-story room for that purpose in April 1830.^[115] City officials decided to use the building as a city hall the same year,^{[37][107][116]} while work for the newsroom and post office was already ongoing.^[115] Barry moved out in May, and two months later, the city's Common Council ordered that the building be restored to a good condition.^[114] Isaiah Rogers, collaborating with his assistant William Washburn, altered the building's interior in a Greek Revival^[116] or a generic classical revival style.^[114][107] The post office opened on September 11, 1830,^[117] and the building was rededicated six days later on September 17.^[109][118] The renovation's $25,000 cost^[II] and the architectural style were not well received.^[119][120]

Aside from an 1882 drawing labeled as a "facsimile" of Rogers's plan,^[107] no other drawings of Rogers's redesign have been identified.^[114] On the western and eastern elevations, he installed classical porticoes^{[72][107][114]} made of wood.^[116] The northern and southern elevations received new steps leading to the doorways,^[114] and the eastern elevation's sundial was replaced with a clock.^[110][121] Abel Bowen's 1838 Picture of Boston describes City Hall's interior. The first floor had a post office, a merchants' exchange interrupted by columns, and a newsroom from west to east.^{[116][122][123]} Several floor girders were partially removed to make way for a spiral staircase between the first and second floors,^[72][116] which ascended the eastern side of a rotunda, leaving open space to the west.^[114] On the second floor were the Hall of Common Council to the west and the mayor's and aldermen's offices to the east.^{[116][119][124]} Other city offices occupied small rooms around the second-floor stair landing and on the third floor, and there was also a vaccination hall on the third floor. These spaces were illuminated by gas lamps throughout.^[116][124]

Another fire occurred in 1832;^[125][126] one newspaper from 1882 noted that the building "narrowly escaped utter destruction",^[127] but a report from 1970 noted that the damage was minor.^[126] During the building's time as City Hall, its basement continued to be rented out, and the city also collected rent from the newsroom and post office.^[120] On October 21, 1835, Mayor Theodore Lyman Jr. gave temporary refuge to William Lloyd Garrison, the editor of the abolitionist paper The Liberator, who was being chased by a violent mob. Garrison was kept safe in the Old State House and was later driven to the Leverett Street Jail, where he was charged with inciting a riot.^[128] The city government moved out during March 1841,^[120] relocating to the County Courthouse on School Street.^[129] The post office and newsroom stayed on the first floor, and the city continued to own the building.^[120]

After City Hall's relocation, the space was again rented out to commercial tenants (including a telegraph office, lawyers, and architects).^[120] The exterior fell into disrepair,^[119][130] and signage and windows were added to the facade without regard to esthetics.^[109] The central staircase was also removed and the interiors rearranged.^[131][132] The building's occupants included tailors, clothing merchants, insurance agents, and railroad-line offices.^[133] The clothiers Brown, Lawrence & Stickney, which occupied the building's eastern section, modified the basement openings there.^{[119][130][134]} By the late 1840s, the eastern elevation had advertising signage for Brown, Lawrence & Stickney.^[119][134] Charles A. Smith's tailor shop filled the first-floor space west of the rotunda for three decades.^[130][135] Both Smith and Brown, Lawrence & Stickney ran advertisements depicting the building;^[134][136] one of Smith's advertisements, from 1850, is among the earliest known depictions of the interior.^[135]

Depictions from c. 1850 show that new storefronts and entrances had been added to both the western and eastern elevations. Mechanical work and repairs also took place in the early 1850s, and doors to the basement were likely installed on the northern elevation.^[137] The building recorded 29 tenants by 1855 (although some room numbers may have had multiple tenants), and further repairs took place later that decade. The earliest known photograph of the State House, from c. 1860, depicts some signage on the facade and two skylights in the roof. Comparisons of illustrations from the 1860s show that additional signs may have been installed during that decade, along with stairs on State Street and semaphore lamps on the eastern elevation.^[138] A group of three tenants signed a ten-year lease for the building in 1866, after which the Old State House's exterior condition declined further, with peeling paint and missing architectural details.^[139]

The structure had 50 simultaneous occupants by 1870.^[130][135] A mansard roof was installed during that decade,^[131][139] and windows were replaced as well.^[139] In the mid-1870s, the government of Chicago proposed relocating the Old State House to Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline,^[135][139] possibly for a world's fair.^[125] Boston's Joint Standing Committee on Streets proposed demolishing the building in 1876 to make way for street widening,^[135][139] but the City Council specifically voted against demolition that April, instead ordering the removal of the eastern portico.^[140][141] The council also leased the building for five more years.^[139][142] By August 1876, The American Architect wrote that the portico had been removed.^[143] Contemporary images show that, by 1880, there was a recessed doorway where the portico once stood; the former balcony on that elevation was not replicated but instead replaced with a window. The tower was also repaired, but the rest of the building was left untouched, amid continued debate over its future.^[144]

The City Council was again discussing the building's disposition by 1880.^[145] By then, there were calls to demolish the building to make way for office development^[130][146] or to speed up traffic on State Street.^[145][147] Advocates of demolition claimed that the building had lost its original design details and was not as profitable.^[135][148] Although the building's lower facade was hidden by advertising billboards,^[37][130] much of the exterior walls, along with the tower above it, remained intact.^[143] In response to the redevelopment plans, the Bostonian Society was formed in 1881 to preserve the Old State House,^[149][150] and alderman William Henry Whitmore advocated for the building's protection, saying that the original structure was still essentially intact.^[148][151] The City Council described the building as "disfigured" and "defaced",^[135][144] while historians retrospectively described the decades of commercial tenancy as "adaptive abuse".^[131][151] The council considered a proposal in May 1881 to spend $35,000^[III] renovating the building for governmental use.^[152] The council also considered again leasing the building to businesses,^[153][154] which would have generated an estimated $762,380^[IV] over twenty years.^[155] Ultimately, the existing tenants were all evicted after the existing lease expired.^[151][156]

In June 1881, the City Council passed a resolution sponsored by Whitmore,^[157][158] which allocated $35,000 for the renovation of the exterior, stair, and upper-story interiors.^[159] That September, the council allocated these funds to the Committee on Public Buildings,^[160][161] while rejecting a proposal to lease out the building.^[160] The city government's architect, George A. Clough, designed the renovation, which took six months.^[132][161] The modifications were completed in June 1882,^[151][162] and the building was rededicated on July 11 of that year.^{[163][164][165]} The Bostonian Society first met there on October 10^[166][167] and initially had its offices, exhibit space, and storage rooms on the second and third stories.^[168] The following week, two city government agencies moved to the building,^[169] occupying the first story's eastern end.^[168] The lower stories also had commercial space,^[151][170] which could be rented for up to $20,000 a year.^[V][170] The Mutual District Messenger Company (later the Mutual Union Telegraph Company) occupied the basement, and two transportation companies leased space near Washington Street.^[151]

On the exterior, the lower stories underwent few changes, while the upper stories were restored to their 18th-century appearance.^[161][171] The basement's facade and the northern and southern elevations' doorways largely retained their appearances, which dated from Isaiah Rogers's 1830 renovation.^[172] Clough replaced the eastern entrance with brick walls, doors, and windows, and he added windows to the western elevation.^[171] On the second and third floors, the sash windows were replaced.^[161][173] The mansard roof was removed, though the cornice and trusses underneath were in good condition and were retained.^[161][168] The extremely dilapidated rooftop tower was almost completely reconstructed.^[161][172] Replicas of the original, burned lion and unicorn statues were placed atop the eastern elevation.^[161][173] These decorations elicited objections,^[161][174] with one observer calling them "an outrage on the memory of our fathers".^[89] Clough also added the Massachusetts coat of arms and a gilded eagle to the western elevation.^[161][173] The eagle was not in place when the building reopened, amid disputes over where it should be positioned,^[175][176] but was in place by 1884.^[177][g]

More contentious was the interior, which was returned to its 1830 appearance.^{[132][162][178]} Whitmore had discovered Rogers's plans in a Cincinnati archive and confused them with the 1748 plans,^[13][114] believing that Rogers's modifications had been limited to small repairs.^[178] Whitmore convinced Clough to restore the building per Rogers's plans.^[130][178] The historian George Henry Moore later discovered the change in plans, leading to a two-year feud with Whitmore,^[130] although the later did acknowledge and even implemented many of Moore's criticisms.^[132] The City Hall–era spiral staircase was restored,^[162][163] and four anterooms were built around the staircase on the second floor.^[178] On that floor, Clough retained the curved walls of the Representatives' Chamber and added Federal-style motifs to the Council Chamber.^[179] Workers also installed a heating system, which involved adding a boiler room and chimneys.^[172]

In 1884, the City Council granted the Mutual District Messenger Company permission to install exterior signage, despite protests from the public.^[180][181] Vandals attempted to remove the lion and unicorn figures three years later, amid continuing anti-British sentiment from Boston's Irish population.^[174][182] After outgrowing its upper-story space, the Bostonian Society leased the building's remaining space in 1894. This required evicting the city government agencies and the remaining merchants. The first floor was converted into a three-room suite with the secretary's and director's offices.^[168]

In the 1900s, two MBTA subway lines were built next to the basement, converging at the State station.^[183] The East Boston Tunnel (now part of the Blue Line) opened in 1904, and the Washington Street Tunnel (now part of the Orange Line) opened in 1908.^[184] As part of the subway's installation, the lower windows in the eastern elevation were replaced with three shorter versions.

In 1907, a restoration headed by Joseph Everett Chandler added recessed entrances in the center of the northern, southern and western elevations as part of the building's return to its original provincial style.^[90][131] The Boston Marine Museum occupied rooms borrowed from the Bostonian Society in 1909.^[185]

Replicas of the lion and unicorn on the rooftop were put in place in 1921,^[90] the same year another fire struck the building.^[125] It mostly burned the northern side of the third floor and the roof timbers above. An automatic fire-alarm system was installed.^[186]Architectural firm Perry, Shaw and Hepburn renovated the building's interior in 1943,^[187] and the Marine Museum moved out in 1947.^[185]

The building was repaired again in the 1950s; the first phase, completed in 1956, involved repairing water damage. Afterward, the exterior was restored to its 18th-century appearance.^[104]

Queen Elizabeth II toured the Old State House with her husband, Prince Philip, on July 11, 1976, as part of her Boston visit to celebrate the bicentenary of the United States. She appeared on the balcony and delivered an address:^[188]

If Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and other patriots could have known that one day a British monarch would stand on the balcony of the Old State House, from which the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston, and be greeted in such kind and generous words—well, I think they would have been extremely surprised! 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.

Goody, Clancy and Associates, in cooperation with the Denver Service Center of the National Park Service, undertook a preservation program of the building in 1991. Their work included amending the truss rafter system, which was held in place by gravity, after it was discovered that it was unable to withstand substantial winds from the north or south.^[131] The renovation was completed in 1992.^[189]

The building's masonry had long been beset by water damage and leaks, which were aggravated by Hurricane Wilma in late 2005. As such, the water-damaged masonry was repaired in 2006, prior to the commencement of wider-ranging renovations.^[190] The project was the subject of an episode of The History Channel's Save Our History.^[191]

A $10 million renovation of the building began in the late 2000s.^[25][190] These included a major restoration of the museum's tower, which was underway by 2008. The windows were repaired and resealed, the balustrades were repaired, and the copper roofing and rotten wood siding were replaced. ^[190] In addition, the building's weathervane was regilded.^[192] By 2011, the HVAC system had been replaced, and new LED lights had been installed.^[25]

In January 2020, the Bostonian Society merged with the Old South Association in Boston to form Revolutionary Spaces, which continued to operate the museum.^[193][194] The modern museum contains exhibits and collections relating to Boston's history, and the Boston city government owns the structure.^[25]

The current Old State House is a Late Georgian brick building,^[41] with a massing (shape) dating from the 1748 reconstruction.^[195] Measuring two and a half stories high, it has a gable roof oriented west–east.^[41][195] The western and eastern elevations of the facade (under the gables) are divided vertically into three bays, while the northern and southern elevations are divided into eleven bays.^[195] The building measures 110 feet (34 m) long by 36 to 38 feet (11 to 12 m) wide.^[h]

The building rests on a water table in the foundation, which contains small windows overlooking the basement, each topped by brick lintels.^[197] The basement is at ground level at its eastern end,^[10] where there are entrances to the MBTA's State station at the basement's northern and southern elevations.^[197] The original foundation walls, replaced when the subway was built in the 1900, were 28 inches (710 mm) thick.^[198] Above the foundation, evidence of 18th-century brickwork is visible on approximately two-thirds of the facade, particularly on most of the northern and southern elevations, and parts of the western elevation.^[199] The brickwork between the windows forms vertical piers, which measure 4.5 feet (1.4 m) wide and are 24 inches (610 mm) thick on the first floor, tapering to 20 inches (510 mm) on the second floor.^[200]

On all except the eastern elevations, there is an entrance recessed from the center of each elevation. Each entrance is flanked by engaged columns in the Doric order, with granite pedestals below and scrolled console brackets above.^[90] The columns support triangular pediments.^[41][90] Above the first story, a belt course runs horizontally across the facade.^[10] Each bay of the northern and southern elevations has sash windows on each story, with splayed lintels above.^[10][195] The voussoirs in each lintel are arranged to resemble jack arches, some of which retain their original brickwork.^[201] The window openings were originally larger but have been partly infilled;^[195][201] the first-story windows are smaller than those on the second story.^[10]

The western and eastern elevations lack any of the original jack arches.^[201] Within these elevations, the attic has a central sash window with a circular ocular window to either side.^[195][202] Each oculus is ornamented with a cast stone replica of the building's original Coade stone decorations.^[197] On the eastern elevation is a small second-floor balcony resting on console brackets or volutes.^[10][90] There is a French door behind the balcony, which is flanked by pilasters in the Corinthian order, topped by a rounded pediment.^[90] The eastern elevation's gable has a clock designed in 1830^[110] or 1831 by Simon Willard.^[90][203] A sundial by local architect George Sherwood was installed in front of the clock in 1957;^[42] the sundial was removed in the 1990s when the clock was repaired.^[90]

The lion and unicorn on the parapets at the eastern end of the building are the same used in the Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, a reminder of the building's past.

The Old State House's roof has slate tiles, with five protruding dormers each on its north and south sides; each dormer has a sash window topped by a pediment.^[90] Baroque-style gilded scrolls are attached to the steps in the gables' parapets,^[41] referencing when the building was used as the State Capitol.^[90] On the western parapet, the building features a statue of a gilded eagle perched atop a small gilded globe. A pair of figures depicting a lion and unicorn, symbols of the British monarchy, are on the eastern parapet.^[90][202] A square tower rises above the attic.^[90][198]

A three-tiered tower extends 70 feet (21 m) above the attic.^[198] The lowest tier is square and has oculus windows, quoins at the corners,^[195][204] and posts predating the 1921 fire.^[204] The central tier has arched windows with Doric pilasters and tracery, while the highest tier has smaller arched windows with Ionic pilasters;^[195] these decorations are made of wood.^[205] A dome surmounts the tower,^[195] topped by a weathervane that may have been designed by Shem Drowne.^[30]

Clough gave the interior its current layout in 1882, though there are also decorations from the 1907 and 1940s renovations.^[187] The basement has service areas and a subway entrance.^[202][206] In the center of the building, a spiral stair runs from the basement to second floor,^[187][202] passing through a rotunda at the first and second floors.^[207][208] Both stories have exhibit rooms flanking the rotunda—Keayne and Whitmore halls on the first floor, and the Representatives' and Council chambers on the second floor. The second story also has four anterooms near the rotunda.^[207]

A boiler flue exists at the building's eastern end. There are radiators throughout the building (some dating from as early as the late 19th century), along with more modern plumbing fixtures.^[209] On the first floor are eight columns oriented along a west–east axis,^[187] which were added during the 19th-century renovations, replacing older columns.^[210] The structural system also includes ten girders below the second floor and ten trusses under the roof, both running north–south.^[200] The girders rest on joists and are supported by the first-floor columns.^[198][200] The second floor lacks interior columns.^[211]

The eastern half of the basement contains the entrance lobby for the MBTA subway's State station, while the western half has mechanical and storage space.^[202][206] At the center of the basement is a staircase landing below the first-floor rotunda. The landing's curved walls have plaster finishes and segmentally arched doorways; the eastern wall has been modified to avoid the subway lobby. Two bathrooms abut the stair landing. The rest of the basement has columns supporting the first floor, and there are also partitions at the western end.^[206] A boiler room is located at the basement's southwest corner.^[209]

The rotunda has a circular plan measuring 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter.^[212] It has a concrete floor and segmentally arched doorways,^[202] along with paneled pilasters along the walls.^[207][208] On the first floor, the curved doors on the west and east walls lead respectively to Keayne and Whitmore halls,^[212] while the north and south walls lead to entrance vestibules.^[202][208] The rotunda's walls are topped by a dado, dado rail, and cornice, and the ceiling has a plaster rosette. The anteroom doors on the second floor are curved,^[212] The foyers abutting the rotunda on both levels have wainscoting and chair rails on their walls, along with cornices that have fretwork.^[202] The staircase itself, designed in the Colonial Revival style,^[208] has two types of balusters, along with scrollwork on its treads.^[207] The staircase balusters, as rebuilt in the 1880s, were inspired by those in the Shirley–Eustis House in Roxbury.^[179][187]

Keayne Hall, at the first floor's western end, dates from the 1900s renovation, with four columns down its center.^[187][213] This room measures 42 by 28 feet (12.8 by 8.5 m) across and is mostly rectangular, except for the east wall abutting the rotunda, which curves inward.^[187] Keayne Hall has a wooden floor and molded decorative details, including trim and cornices.^[187][214] The plaster walls have paneled wainscoting and cyma recta and ovolo moldings;^[202] the west wall has a paneled door leading outside.^[202] The ceiling is also made of plaster.^[202]

To the east is Whitmore Hall, measuring 25 by 28 feet (7.6 by 8.5 m), which is raised about 19 inches (480 mm) from the rest of the first floor to avoid interfering with the State station entrance lobby's ceiling.^[187][215] The room formerly extended farther east, but the easternmost end of the first floor has since been partitioned into a library and secretary's office.^[216] Like Keayne Hall, Whitmore Hall has wooden floors and plaster walls and ceilings.^[202] It also has molded decorative details,^[187][216] including a mopboard and a cornice with a stepped profile.^[202] There were formerly four columns running through Whitmore Hall and between the library and secretary's office,^[216] but the easternmost column was removed around 1903.^[215]

West of the stair hall's second story, a corridor leads between two anterooms, the Commission and Patriots rooms.^[217] This corridor connects with the Representatives' Chamber (or Representatives' Hall).^[212][217] Measuring 34 by 28 feet (10.4 by 8.5 m), it is designed in the Colonial Revival style.^[212] The floor is made of wood,^[218][219] and the ceiling is made of plaster, with a rosette.^[212][218] The plaster walls have paneled wainscoting, a chair rail, and a cornice with fretwork and rosettes.^[218] The west wall has two fireplaces flanking a window,^[218] although the north fireplace was sealed when a boiler flue was installed.^[219] The east wall is concave, adjoining the anterooms' curved walls.^[218] The doorways have elaborate molding and decorations,^[212] but the doors to the anterooms have been removed.^[219]

East of the stair hall, another corridor leads between two more anterooms: the Henry Hastings and Curtis Guild rooms.^[218] It connects to the Council Chamber, measuring 30 by 28 feet (9.1 by 8.5 m).^[212] The Council Chamber's current design, dating from the 1943 renovation,^[218][220] has Georgian-style decorations.^[212] The floor is made of wood, and the ceiling is made of plaster. The plaster walls have two tiers of wainscoting, a chair rail, and a stepped cornice.^[221] The eastern wall has an opening leading to the balcony, with a window on either side; there are fireplaces between the windows and balcony opening.^[212][218] There are seating areas within the recessed windows.^[218] The western door is topped by a replica of a lion and unicorn motif.^[212] A royal coat of arms was removed from the Council Chamber during the Revolution by fleeing Loyalists;^[222] the coat of arms was installed at Trinity Anglican Church in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1791.^[223]

From the second story, a curved stair with wooden treads, a balustrade, and a railing leads to the attic. The attic's western portion has offices, and the eastern portion lacks finishes;^[218] the wooden and plasterwork decorations largely date from the 1882 renovation, except for some repairs made after a 1921 fire.^[224] A third stair ascends from the attic within the roof tower.^[218][225] The tower stair is designed in the Greek Revival style and likely dating from the 1830s, with uneven wooden treads.^[225] The interior of the tower's lowest tier is divided into two levels, each accessed by a doorway from the stair. These levels contain wooden decorations, and they had partitions until after 1921.^[226] The central and highest tiers also have rooms, with wooden details.^[205]

The Old State House has operated as a museum since its 1882 conversion;^[189] as of 2020, the museum is operated by Revolutionary Spaces.^[193] A reenactment of the Boston Massacre takes place outside the building every March 5,^[227][228] and the Declaration of Independence is read outside every July 4.^[228]

The Bostonian Society, the museum's original operator, initially displayed paintings and artifacts from Boston's history,^[127][163] which were sourced from its own collections.^[229] The artifacts included objects relating to the building, along with pieces from Boston's and Massachusetts's colonial history.^[170] Keayne Hall was used for maritime displays. After a century of exhibiting the Bostonian Society's collection, the museum began focusing on its Boston-related exhibits in the 1980s.^[229] The exhibits are spread across two floors.^[230]

U.S. President John Adams described the Old State House as the building where "independence was born", citing its role prior to the American Revolution.^[190] When the building was renovated in the 1830s, contemporary observers did not appreciate the changes; one source likened the modifications to "plastering and painting a matron very far in years".^[119][120] In 1881, the Massachusetts Ploughman and New England Journal of Agriculture wrote that the building "deserves to stand to 'the last syllable of recorded time'" precisely for its historical importance.^[154] After the renovation was completed, a writer for Century Illustrated Magazine said that the Old State House had a charming quality and was "smaller, less costly, more provincial" than its successor.^[231]

Replicas of the Old State House have been built in several places in Massachusetts and the eastern U.S.:

• Brockton Fairgrounds, Brockton, Massachusetts^[232][233]
• Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts; traditional residence, northern side^[234]
• Eastern States Exposition ("The Big E"), West Springfield, Massachusetts; Avenue of States section^[235][236]
• The Massachusetts building at the Jamestown, Virginia, Exposition of 1907.^[237] The building deteriorated after the exposition and was later demolished.^[238]
• The town hall of Weymouth Civic District in Weymouth, Massachusetts,^[239] which was built in 1928^[240]

The building was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1960, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.^[12] The Old State House is one of eight NHLs in the 43-acre (17 ha) Boston National Historical Park,^[241] which was designated in 1974.^[242] The exterior and some interior spaces were designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1994.^[243]

In conjunction with the Old State House's 1882 renovation, the Bostonian Society published a book about the building's history, printing six editions through 1893.^[165]

• 
  The "Court House", by Thomas Dawes Jr. (artist) and Nathaniel Hurd (engraver), in 1751 (northern elevation)
• 
  Engraving by Samuel Hill of the western and southern elevations, published in the Massachusetts Magazine, 1793
• 
  Eastern and northern elevations from State Street, 1801, by J. Marston. The steps and door were removed around fifteen years later
• 
  Advertisement for Clothing Warehouse in the Old State House, 1849
• 
  Old State House, c. 1898 photo, eastern and northern elevations
• 
  Eastern elevation, 19th century
• 
  Devonshire Street entrance to State subway station
• 
  Marker commemorating the Boston Massacre, which occurred nearby, at the eastern end of the building

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
• National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
• List of members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives

• Amadon, Elizabeth Reed (1970). Architectural – Historical and Engineering Assessment and Report on Old State House, Faneuil Hall, Dillaway House, Parkman House, 46 Joy Street for the Public Facilities Department, City of Boston. Boston Public Facilities Department.
• Bagley, Joseph M. (April 24, 2021). Boston's Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 978-1-68458-039-2.
• Boston National Historical Park (PDF) (Report). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. October 26, 1974.
• Chase, Sara B. (1978). "A Brief Survey of the Architectural History of the Old State House, Boston, Massachusetts" (PDF). Old Time New England. Vol. 68, no. 251 – via Historic New England.
• Detwiller, Frederic C. (1977). Historic Structure Report: Faneuil Hall (PDF) (Report). Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.
• Hartnell, Edward Mussey; McGlenen, Edward Webster; Skelton, Edward O. (1916). Boston and Its Story, 1630-1915. City of Boston Printing Department.
• Hitchings, Sinclair; Hitchings, Catherine F. (1975). Theatre of Liberty: Boston's Old State House. Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Co. OCLC 3300754.
• Moore, George Henry (May 12, 1885). Prytaneum bostoniense. Notes on the history of the Old state house. Vol. 1. Boston: Cupples, Upham & co.
• Moore, George Henry (February 9, 1886). Prytaneum bostoniense. Notes on the history of the Old state house. Vol. 2. Boston: Cupples, Upham & co.
• Ofenstein, Sharon K. (1977). Old State House: Boston National Historic Park – Historic Structure Report (PDF) (Report). The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities Consulting Services Group.
• The Old State House; Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report (PDF) (Report). Boston Landmarks Commission. December 13, 1994.
• Old State House, Second Town House (Report). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. October 15, 1966.
• Whitehill, Walter Muir (1968). Boston; a topographical history. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-626565-0.
• Whitman, R. V.; Becker, J. M. (January 31, 1980). Earthquake Resistance of the Old State House, Boston, Massachusetts (Report). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved March 31, 2021.

• Ofenstein, Sharon K. (June 1988). Historic Structure Report Architectural Data Section (PDF) (Report). Vol. I – Physical History. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities Consulting Services Group.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old State House.

• Old State House – National Park Service