Must-see
Massachusetts State House
Boston’s golden dome: the state government has met here since 1798
The story
Before you is the Massachusetts State House. Its golden dome can be seen from almost anywhere in downtown Boston. The building was designed by the Boston architect Charles Bulfinch. It stands on the top of Beacon Hill, on land that was once the pasture of John Hancock, the first freely elected governor of the state. The cornerstone was laid on the fourth of July 1795. The Masonic ceremony was led by Paul Revere, then the head of the Freemasons of Massachusetts. In 1798 the state government moved here from the old building on what is now Washington Street. At first the wooden dome leaked. In 1802 it was sheathed in copper, and the work was done by the copper business of the same Paul Revere. The dome was painted at first, and in 1874 it was covered with gold leaf. During World War Two it was painted gray again, so it would not shine during blackouts or guide enemy bombers. Today the dome is covered in twenty-three-karat gold. On top sits a gilded wooden pine cone, a nod to the forests the colony lived on. In the House of Representatives hangs the “Sacred Cod,” a wooden fish given by a Boston merchant in 1784. It recalls how much fishing meant to Massachusetts. And in 2014 a metal box from the eighteenth century, with coins and newspapers, was found in the building’s cornerstone: the time capsule of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
Visiting
The address is 24 Beacon Street. Free guided tours of the building run on weekdays and last about 40 minutes; book by calling +1 617-727-3676. Without a tour you can visit the information desk in Doric Hall on the second floor. There is a security check at the entrance. The accessible entrance is on Bowdoin Street.
Photos
Sources
- The Freedom Trail Foundation — Massachusetts State House
- Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — State House Tours
- Wikipedia (EN) — Massachusetts State House
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