Last updated: May 21, 2024
Place
Old State House
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
State and Washington Streets, Boston
Significance:
Colonial and State Seat of Government for Massachusetts
Designation:
National Historic Landmark; Freedom Trail Site; Legislated Partner Site of Boston National Historical Park
MANAGED BY:
Built in 1713, this historic landmark served as the seat of colonial and state governments as well as a merchants’ exchange. In 1761 patriot James Otis opposed British Writs of Assistance here, inspiring John Adams to state, “then and there the child independence was born.” Nine years later, the building bore witness to the Boston Massacre, and on July 18, 1776, Bostonians heard the Declaration of Independence for the first time, read from the balcony of the building. 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.