USA - Massachussetts - Old State House

Old State House Adorned for the Centennial Celebrations of 1876, Boston.

The Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston, was built in 1713 to house the government offices of the Massachussetts Bay Colony. The area beneath the balcony was the site of the Boston Massacre (1770), and on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the same balcony. Later that day, the Lion and Unicorn were taken down from the roof of the building and ceremonially burned. The Lion and Unicorn were not replaced until 1882. After the Revolution, the building served several functions -- as Massachussetts State House and as Boston City Hall -- before becoming a commercial center (seen here), when as many as fifty businesses were shoeshorned into it at once.

Sent by Mark from Boston in Massachussetts, USA.

The Old State House, also known as the Old Provincial State House, is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1713. It was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798. It is located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States.

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. On January 1, 2020, the Bostonian Society merged with the Old South Association in Boston to form Revolutionary Spaces. The Old State House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1994 (read more).