Old State House (Massachusetts)

Old State House
National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmark
The east side of the building with the balcony from which the first public announcement of the United States' Declaration of Independence was made in Boston. The lion and unicorn on top of the building are the same as in the United Kingdom's coat of arms and are a reminder of the building's past.
location	Boston , Massachusetts
Coordinates	42 ° 21 '31.6 "  N , 71 ° 3' 28.1"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '31.6 "  N , 71 ° 3' 28.1"  W.
Built	1713
architect	Origin unknown, new building 1748; Changes in 1830: Isaiah Rogers ; Restoration 1881–1882: George Albert Clough , renovation 1991: Goody, Clancy and Associates
Architectural style	Georgian
NRHP number	66000779
Data
The NRHP added	October 15, 1966
Declared as an  NHL	October 9, 1960

The engraving by Paul Revere shows the Boston Massacre . The Old State House can be clearly seen in the background .

The spiral staircase in the Old State House

The Old State House is a historic administration building at the intersection of Washington and State Street in Boston in the state of Massachusetts in the United States . It was built in 1713 and is the oldest standing public building in Boston. The Old State House was the seat of the state legislature until 1798 . Today it is a local history museum and is operated by the nonprofit Bostonian Society . The building is part of the Freedom Trail route .

history

The Massachusetts Town House : Seat of the colonial government 1713–1776

Today, from bricks existing Old State House was built, and from 1712 to 1713 probably by Robert Twelves designed. The previous wooden building from 1657 was completely destroyed by a fire in 1711. Particularly noteworthy were the two 7  ft (2  m ) high wooden figures on the roof of the building, depicting a lion and a unicorn . Both are symbols of the British monarchy .

The building housed a swap exchange on the ground floor and several warehouses in the basement. The first floor housed the Royal Governor's Council Chamber on the east side , while the western part of the first floor housed the Suffolk County and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court . In the center of the building were the rooms of the popularly elected Massachusetts General Court , which were the first in the English-speaking world to also have public galleries .

In 1761, James Otis Jr. tried the Writs of Assistance in the Royal Council Chamber , but he lost it. Nonetheless, Otis influenced public opinion through the process in ways that contributed to the development of the American Revolution . John Adams later wrote of this speech: "At this time and in this place [...] the child named Independence was born".

On March 5, 1770, the Boston massacre occurred in front of the building on Devonshire Street . Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson stood on the balcony of the State House and ordered the crowd to return home.

The Massachusetts State House : Seat of the state government 1776–1798

On July 18, 1776 was United States Declaration of Independence from the eastern balcony in front of a cheering crowd of Colonel Thomas Crafts , one of the Sons of Liberty , proclaimed . First, Crafts appeared in the town hall at 1 a.m. and read the statement to the members present. Afterwards, his colleague Sheriff William Greenleaf wanted to read the statement from the balcony, but only managed to whisper so that Crafts, standing next to him, read the document in an overly loud voice. For most of those present, it was a festive occasion as about two-thirds of Boston residents supported the revolution. The lion and the unicorn, symbols of British monarchy, were removed from the roof of the building and burned in a bonfire on King Street .

After the American Revolution, the building served as the seat of the regional government of the state of Massachusetts until it moved to today's Massachusetts State House in 1798 .

Boston City Hall 1830–1841

The Old State House in Boston from behind

From 1830 to 1841, the building served as the Boston City Hall , whose rooms were previously located in the county's courthouse . In 1830, the architect Isaiah Rogers changed the interior design to the Greek Revival style, which was particularly evident in the installation of a large spiral staircase , which is still there today. The building was damaged by fire in 1832.

During this time the building also housed the Boston Post Office and several private companies. On October 21, 1835, then Mayor Theodore Lyman, Jr. granted temporary refuge to abolitionist William Loyed Garrison, who had written The Liberator and was being followed by an angry mob . Garrison was safe in the Old State House and was later taken to Leverett Street Jail , where he was protected overnight. At the same time, however, he was charged with inciting a riot. In 1841 City Hall moved to the former Suffolk County Court building.

Commercial use 1841–1881

Advert for a clothing store in the Old State House (1849)

After the town hall moved out, the entire building was rented for commercial use - as had already happened between the State House and the town hall. Tenants included tailors , clothing stores, insurance companies and railroad companies . At times 50 tenants were accommodated in the building at the same time.

After another fire in 1847, the inside of the building had to be completely renovated - only the stone walls had survived the fire.

The Bostonian Society and Museum 1881-present

→ Main article : The Bostonian Society

In 1881, in response to plans to possibly demolish the building due to urban planning options, the Bostonian Society was formed with the aim of maintaining and administering the Old State House . From 1881 to 1882 restoration work was carried out by George A. Clough . Subsequently, in 1882, replicas of the lion and unicorn statues were installed on the roof on the east side, as the originals had been burned in 1776. A statue of an eagle was placed on the west side to commemorate the building's connection to US history.

The State Street MBTA station has been using part of the basement of the Old State House since 1904 .

On July 11, 1976, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Old State House with her husband as part of the celebrations for the bicentenary of the United States . In the tradition of history, she also gave a speech to a large crowd on the historic balcony.

The museum today

The tower of the building a year before restoration

Today the Old State House is surrounded by tall buildings in Boston’s financial district. However, it is not completely covered and can be seen very well from the harbor side. The State House is located directly above the State Street station of the MBTA by the subway lines Blue Line and Orange Line is operated. The subway station is directly accessible from the State House basement. The building can be rented for evening events, but its main function is the role of a museum, open seven days a week and only closed on a few public holidays.

The next stop on the Freedom Trail is the site of the Boston Massacre, indicated by a cobblestone on the traffic island in front of the Old State House . Multimedia presentations are shown in the museum , and there is also a guided tour that describes and explains the massacre in a historical context.

The building undergoes regular maintenance , repair and restoration work to keep it in good condition. In 2006, water damage to the masonry had to be repaired, which had been a problem for a long time, but was aggravated by Hurricane Wilma in autumn 2005 . The restoration work was comprehensively documented in the History Channel .

In 2008 the tower of the museum was extensively restored. During construction, the 1713 weather vane , believed to have been made by Shem Drowne , was re- gilded . The windows were repaired and reinsulated, the balustrades repaired and the copper roof and rotten wooden parts replaced. This was necessary to avoid structural damage and to protect the collections exhibited in the museum. This also includes the clock made by Simon Willard in 1831 .

The Bostonian Society is currently planning some changes to improve access to the museum, especially with regard to accessibility . Among other things, a ramp and a wheelchair lift are to be installed for this purpose.

See also

• List of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in northern Boston
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston

Web links

Commons : Old State House  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Boston Historical Society website
• The website Boston National Historical Park
• Freedom Trail Foundation website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Susan Southworth, Michael Southworth, Boston Society of Architects: AIA guide to Boston . 3. Edition. Globe Pequot, Guilford 2008, ISBN 978-0-7627-4337-7 .
2. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Massachusetts. National Park Service , accessed August 12, 2019.
3. ^ ^{A b} Walter Muir Whitehill: Boston . a topographical history. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1968, ISBN 0-19-626565-7 .
4. ^ History of the Old State House building. In: The Bostonian Society. Retrieved November 16, 2011 . 
5. ^ Boston National Historical Park (Agency: US): Boston and the American Revolution . In: United States National Park Service, Division of Publications (Ed.): Handbook (United States National Park Service, Division of Publications) . No. 146 . The Service, Washington DC 1998, ISBN 0-912627-65-4 .
6. ^ Robert J. Allison: The Boston Massacre . Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, Mass. 2006, ISBN 1-933212-10-1 .
7. ^ ^{A b c} Sinclair Hitchings, Catherine F. Hitchings, John DePol: Theater of liberty . Boston's Old State House. Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company, Boston 1975, OCLC 3300754 .
8. ↑ Old City Hall. (No longer available online.) In: Old City Hall.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011 ; accessed on November 16, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ^ Hilary Hopkins: Boston's historic places - so what? an interactive guide for the thoughtful walker. Jewelweed Books, Cambridge, Mass. 2009, ISBN 978-0-692-00307-7 .
10. ^ American Institute of Architects: Architecture . American Institute of Architects, June 1993, ISSN  0746-0554 , OCLC 223368706 .
11. ^ Completed Preservation Projects. In: The Bostonian Society. Retrieved November 16, 2011 . 
12. ↑ Old State House Tower Restoration Project. Retrieved November 16, 2011 . 
13. ^ Future Projects. In: The Bostonian Society. Retrieved November 16, 2011 .