Unspecified/General

On the crest of Beacon Hill overlooking the historic Boston Common from the north, the Massachusetts State House is the seat of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and one of the most architecturally distinguished state capitol buildings in the United States. The original red-brick three-storey building was designed by the celebrated American architect Charles Bulfinch (often considered the first professionally trained architect born in America) and substantially completed in 1798, with the formal dedication held on 11 January of that year. The building's defining feature is the celebrated 23-karat gold-leaf-covered central dome. The dome was originally constructed in wood and shingled in white pine. By 1802 the dome was leaking badly enough that Paul Revere's coppersmith workshop sheathed it in copper sheeting. In 1874 the celebrated gold-leaf finish was first applied. The gold leaf is reapplied approximately every 25 years, with the most recent regilding completed in 1997 at a cost of around 1.5 million dollars. The building was substantially expanded twice during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to accommodate the growth of the state government. The 1895 yellow-brick Brigham extension (designed by the celebrated firm of Charles Brigham) more than doubled the building's floor area to the rear of the original Bulfinch structure. The 1917 white-marble Wings (the East Wing and West Wing) further expanded the building's northern and southern facades. The interior houses several historically significant ceremonial chambers. The dramatic Doric Hall on the second floor (one of Bulfinch's most celebrated interior designs) houses several portraits of celebrated Massachusetts political figures including a celebrated 1828 portrait of John Adams. The celebrated House Chamber on the third floor houses the Sacred Cod, a 4-foot-11-inch carved wooden codfish that has hung above the speaker's rostrum since 1798 as a commemoration of the celebrated centrality of the cod-fishing industry to the colonial Massachusetts economy. The Senate Chamber on the third floor houses an even older commemorative artefact, the celebrated Holy Mackerel (a small brass mackerel acquired in 1895 to complement the older Sacred Cod). Free guided tours of the State House are available throughout the day by advance reservation.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 24 Beacon Street, Boston, MA, United States

Telephone: 617-727-3676

Website: sec.state.ma.us/divisions/state-house-tours

Opening Date: 11/01/1798