Old State House (Boston, Massachusetts)
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Old State House
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East view of the Old State House, circa July 2003.
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| Location | Boston, MA |
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| Coordinates | 42°21′31.57″N 71°3′28.1″W / 42.3587694°N 71.057806°WCoordinates: 42°21′31.57″N 71°3′28.1″W / 42.3587694°N 71.057806°W |
| Built | 1713 |
| Architect | Original Architect unknown – rebuilt 1748; Alterations: Isaiah Rogers; 1830: Restoration: George Albert Clough, 1881–1882; Renovation: Goody, Clancy and Associates, 1991. |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000779 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
The Old State House is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Washington and State Streets. Built in 1713, it was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798, and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. One of the landmarks on Boston's Freedom Trail, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston, and now serves as a history museum operated by the Bostonian Society. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1994.
Today's brick Old State House was built in 1712–13, possibly designed by Robert Twelves; the previous building, the wooden Town House of 1657, had burned in the fire of 1711. A notable feature was the pair of seven-foot tall wooden figures depicting a lion and unicorn, symbols of the British monarchy.
The building housed a Merchant's Exchange on the first floor and warehouses in the basement. On the second floor, the east side contained the Council Chamber of the Royal Governor while the west end of the second floor contained chambers for the Courts of Suffolk County and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The central portion contained the chambers for the elected Massachusetts Assembly. This chamber is notable for including public galleries, the first known example of such a feature being included in a chamber for elected officials in the English-speaking world.
The interior was rebuilt in 1748, after a fire in 1747 (the brick walls of the 1712–13 building survived the fire).
In 1761, James Otis argued against the Writs of Assistance in the Royal Council Chamber. Though he lost the case, Otis influenced public opinion in a way that contributed to the American Revolution; John Adams later wrote of that speech, "Then and there... the child independence was born."
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