Old State House (Boston)

The east side of the building with the balcony was of the public from the first notification of the Declaration of Independence of the United States in Boston. The Lion and the Unicorn on the roof of the building are the same as in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom and a reminder of the building's past.

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

History

The Massachusetts Town House: seat of the colonial government 1713-1776

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

The building Headquartered an online exchange on the ground floor and several warehouses in the basement. On the first floor was located on the east side of the Council Chamber of the Royal Governor, while the western part of the first floor housed the premises of the Court of Suffolk County Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the. In the center of the building, the rooms of the Massachusetts General Court elected by the people, who possessed the first in the English speaking world via publicly accessible galleries were.

In 1761, James Otis led against the Writs of Assistance in the chamber of the Royal Council a process, but he lost. Nevertheless Otis influenced public opinion through the process in a way that contributed to the development of the American Revolution. Later, John Adams wrote about this speech: " the child was born, called independence at this time and in this place [ ... ] ".

On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre took place in front of the building on Devonshire Street. The Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson was standing on the balcony of the State House, and ordered the crowd to go home.

The Massachusetts State House: seat of government of the State 1776-1798

On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence of the United States from the eastern balcony, proclaimed in front of a cheering crowd of Colonel Thomas Crafts, one of the Sons of Liberty. First appeared Crafts by 1 clock in the Town Hall and read the statement to the members present. Following his fellow Sheriff William Greenleaf wanted to read the statement from the balcony, but has produced only a whisper, so that the document leaving Crafts standing next to him with a loud voice over. For most of those present, it was a festive occasion, with about two-thirds of Boston's residents supported the revolution. The Lion and the Unicorn as symbols of the British monarchy were taken 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 government of the state of Massachusetts until it moved to its present Massachusetts State House in 1798.

The Boston City Hall 1830-1841

In the years 1830 to 1841 the building served as the town hall of Boston, the rooms of which were previously located at the courthouse of the county. 1830 changed the architect Isaiah Rogers decoration in the Greek Revival style, which manifested itself particularly in the installation of a large spiral staircase that exists even today. The building was damaged by fire in 1832.

During this time, the Boston Post Office as well as some private companies were housed in the building also. On 21 October 1835, the then Mayor Theodore Lyman, Jr. granted the abolitionist William Garrison Loyed temporary refuge, who had written the paper The Liberator, and was followed by an angry mob. Garrison was at the Old State House in security and was later taken to the prison at the Leverett Street, where he was protected overnight. At the same time, however, he was charged with inciting a riot. 1841 moved to the town hall in the former building of the Court of Suffolk County.

Commercial use 1841-1881

As has already happened before in the time between State House and City Hall - - ​​After the exodus of the town hall, the entire building was leased for commercial use. Tenants have included tailor, clothing stores, insurance companies and railway companies. At times, 50 tenants were also housed in the building.

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

The Bostonian Society and Museum 1881 -present

In 1881 was founded as a reaction to plans for the possible demolition of the building due to urban planning design options the Bostonian Society, with the aim to maintain and manage the Old State House. From 1881 to 1882 restoration work was carried out by George A. Clough. Following 1882 replicas of the lion and the unicorn statue were mounted on the roof of the east side, as the originals had been burned in 1776. On the west side of the statue of an eagle was mounted in order to remember the connection of the building to U.S. history.

Since 1904, the MBTA Station State Street uses a part of the basement of the Old State House.

On July 11, 1976 attended Queen Elizabeth II as part of the celebrations of the bicentennial anniversary of the United States with her husband, the Old State House. In the tradition of history, they also held on the historic balcony a speech to a large crowd.

The museum today

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

The next stop on the Freedom Trail is the venue of the Boston Massacre, which is characterized by a paving stone on the traffic island in front of the Old State House. The museum multimedia presentations to be shown, as there is a guided tour that describes the massacre in a historical context and explained.

The building will be subjected to regular maintenance, repair and restoration work, to get it in good condition. In 2006, water damage to the brickwork had to be resolved, although it for some time been a problem, but was exacerbated significantly by Hurricane Wilma in the fall of 2005. The restoration work has been extensively documented in the History Channel.

In 2008, the tower of the museum was extensively restored. During construction, originally from the 1713 weather vane, which was probably made by Shem Drowne was re- gilded. The windows were repaired and newly insulated, the balustrades repaired and replaced the copper roof and rotted wood components. This was necessary to avoid structural damage and to protect in the museum collections. This also includes custom built in 1831 by Simon Willard clock.

The Bostonian Society is currently planning some changes in order to improve access to the museum especially with regard to accessibility. These are, among others, a ramp and a wheelchair lift to be installed.