Massachusetts State House | |
 The Massachusetts State House inBoston, November 2016 | |
 Interactive map of Massachusetts State House | |
| Location | 24 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°21′29.4″N71°3′49.3″W / 42.358167°N 71.063694°W /42.358167; -71.063694 |
| Built | 1795–1798 |
| Architect |
|
| Architectural style | Federal architecture |
| Part of | Beacon Hill Historic District (ID66000130) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000771 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1960[2] |
| Designated CP | October 15, 1966 |
TheMassachusetts State House, also known as theMassachusetts Statehouse or theNew State House, is thestate capitol andseat of government for theCommonwealth of Massachusetts, located in theBeacon Hill[3][4] neighborhood ofBoston. The building houses theMassachusetts General Court (state legislature) and the offices of theGovernor of Massachusetts. The building, designed by architectCharles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333 (more than five times the budget), and has repeatedly been enlarged since. It is one of the oldest state capitols in current use. It is considered a masterpiece ofFederal architecture and among Bulfinch's finest works, and was designated aNational Historic Landmark for its architectural significance.[5]
Today the building officially functions and is maintained under the auspices of the Superintendent of the Bureau of the State House.[6]
The building is situated on 6.7 acres (2.7 ha) of land on top of Beacon Hill inBoston, opposite theBoston Common onBeacon Street. It was built on land once owned byJohn Hancock, Massachusetts's first elected governor.[7] TheMasonic cornerstone ceremony took place on July 4, 1795, withPaul Revere, then Grand Master of theGrand Lodge of Massachusetts, presiding.[8]
Before the current State House was completed in 1798, Massachusetts's government house was theOld State House on what is now Washington Street. For the building's design, architect Charles Bulfinch made use of two existing buildings inLondon:William Chambers'sSomerset House,[9] andJames Wyatt'sPantheon.[10]
AfterMaine separated from Massachusetts and became an independent state in 1820, Charles Bulfinch designedMaine's capitol building with architectural influence of the Massachusetts Capitol building with a simplified Greek Revival influence.[11]
The Commonwealth completed a major expansion of the original building in 1895.[12] The architect for the annex was BostonianCharles Brigham.
In 1917, the east and west wings, designed by architectsSturgis,Bryant, Chapman & Andrews, were completed.[7]
In July 2016, GovernorCharlie Baker proposed to the state legislature to sell 300 square feet (28 m2) of permanenteasement on the west side of the State House lawn to a neighboring condominium. The land in question was once pasture owned byJohn Hancock and the easement would allow for the addition ofau pair units.[13] Through legislation passed by the legislature the land surrounding the state house is considered "open space".[14]
The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 byPaul Revere'sRevere Copper Company.[15]
The dome was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded withgold leaf in 1874. DuringWorld War II, the dome was painted gray once again, to prevent reflection during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks.[16] The dome was re-gilded in 1969, at a cost of $36,000.[17] Then, in July 1997, the dome was once again re-gilded, in 23k gold. The estimated cost this time was $1.5 million.[18]
The dome is topped with a gilded, wooden pine cone, symbolizing both the importance of Boston's lumber industry during early colonial times and of the state of Maine, which was adistrict of the Commonwealth when the Bulfinch section of the building was completed.[16]
In front of the building is anequestrian statue of GeneralJoseph Hooker.[19] Other statues in front of the building includeDaniel Webster, educatorHorace Mann, and former U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy. The statues ofAnne Hutchinson andMary Dyer are located on the lawns below the east and west wings.[20] Inside the building is astatue of William Francis Bartlett, an officer in the Civil War.[21]
The original red-brick Bulfinch building contains the Governor's offices (on the west end) with theMassachusetts Senate occupying the formerHouse of Representatives Chamber under the dome. TheMassachusetts House of Representatives occupies a chamber on the west side of the Brigham addition. Hanging over this chamber is the "Sacred Cod", which was given to the House of Representatives in 1784 by a Boston merchant. The Sacred Cod symbolizes the importance of thefishing industry to the early Massachusetts economy.[22]
The House Chamber is decorated with murals byAlbert Herter,[23] father of Massachusetts Gov.Christian Herter. Murals on the second floor under the dome were painted by artistEdward Brodney.[24] Brodney won a competition to paint the first mural in a contest sponsored by theWorks Progress Administration in 1936. It is entitled "Columbia Knighting Her World War Disabled". Brodney could not afford to pay models, and friends and family posed. The model for Columbia was Brodney's sister Norma Brodney Cohen, and the model for the soldier on one knee in the foreground was his brother Fred Brodney.[25] In 1938, he painted a second mural under the dome called "World War Mothers". The models were again primarily friends and family members, with sister Norma sitting beside their mother Sarah Brodney.[26]
Above the murals, the names of 53 Massachusetts citizens honored in 1895 were inscribed-Carver,Bradford,Endecott,Winthrop,Vane,Pickering,Knox,Lincoln,John Adams,Dane,Quincy,J. Q. Adams,Webster,Sumner,Wilson,Andrew,Choate,Parsons,Shaw,Story,Everett,Phillips,Garrison,Mann,Howe, Allen,Devens,Bartlett,Putnam,Franklin,Bowditch,Peirce,Agassiz,Bulfinch,Morse,Morton,Bell,Bancroft,Prescott,Motley,Parkman,Emerson,Hawthorne,Holmes,Bryant,Longfellow,Lowell,Whittier,Copley,Hunt,Edwards,Channing,Brooks.[27][28]
A staircase in front of the Bulfinch building leads from Beacon Street to Doric Hall inside the building. The large main doors inside Doric Hall are only opened on three occasions:[29]
Memorial Hall, also known as the Hall of Flags, is a room that sits central to the state house's second floor. The room displays regiment flags of returning Massachusetts soldiers from various regiments across every war since theCivil War. The stained glass skylight above contains the seals of the originalThirteen Colonies of the United States, with the Massachusetts seal in the center.[30]
TheSamuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule is a metal box located in a cornerstone of the State House, placed there in the late 18th century and rediscovered in 2014. The contents include coins, newspaper clippings, and other historical artifacts.[31]
The majority of State House office space is given over to the Legislature. Every member of theHouse andSenate is assigned an office. Large third-floor suites are assigned to theHouse Speaker[37] (Room 356) andSenate President[38] (Room 332). Other offices include the House and Senate clerks, House and Senate counsel, and Legislative Information Services.
One corridor of the building's fourth floor is a sort ofNewspaper Row, anchored by the large Press Gallery suite where reporters from a range of publications maintain desks. The central Press Gallery room was given to use of reporters by the Legislature in 1909.[39] The Massachusetts State House Press Association, established in 1909, governs these shared workspaces.[40] Some individual news outlets have separate offices.
A suite of rooms on the fifth floor is home to the Massachusetts headquarters of several veterans' groups, including theAmerican Legion,American Legion Auxiliary,AMVETS,Disabled American Veterans,Italian American War Veterans of the United States,Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Korean War Veterans,Marine Corps League,Military Order of the Purple Heart, Persian Gulf Era Veterans,Polish Legion of American Veterans,Veterans of Foreign Wars, andVietnam Veterans of America.[42][43]
One of Boston's most enduringnicknames, "The Hub of the Universe",[44] stems from a remark byOliver Wendell Holmes from his 1858 bookThe Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table in which he mentions the State House:[45] "A jaunty-looking person ... said there was one more wise man's saying that he had heard; it was about our place—but he didn't know who said it. ... Boston State-House is the Hub of the Solar System. You couldn't pry that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation straightened out for a crow-bar".[46]
| Preceded by | Locations along Boston'sFreedom Trail Massachusetts State House | Succeeded by |
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