Massachusetts State House
Paul Revere presided over the cornerstone ceremony on July 4, 1795 — the Commonwealth has been governed from this hill ever since.
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Charles Bulfinch finished this Federal-style capitol in January 1798 at $133,333 — more than five times the original budget. He borrowed the design from two London buildings: William Chambers's Somerset House and James Wyatt's Pantheon. One of the oldest state capitols still in active use, it earned National Historic Landmark status for its architecture and still houses the legislature and the Governor.
What to look for
- The Federal proportions Bulfinch lifted from London's Somerset House and the Pantheon — spot the deliberate echoes in the facade
- The 6.7-acre Beacon Hill grounds, part of which was once pasture belonging to John Hancock, Massachusetts's first elected governor
- The 1895 expansion wing by Boston architect Charles Brigham, the first of two major enlargements after the original build
Active seat of government on Beacon Hill; free guided tours run on weekdays but check the state website for current hours before you go.
Massachusetts State House is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Boston, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Boston pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts BostonFour hundred and fifty thousand works of art under one roof — one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.
- TD GardenThe subway stops underneath it — TD Garden is built directly above MBTA's North Station, so you step off the train and you are already at the door.
- Harvard College ObservatoryOn the night of July 16-17, 1850, astronomers here made the first daguerreotype of a star — Vega — through a telescope that was the largest in North America.
- Fenway ParkThe oldest active ballpark in MLB, where a cramped city block accidentally invented some of baseball's most famous features.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIn 1990, thieves walked out with thirteen works worth $500 million — none have ever come back, and the case is still open.
- Boston Public LibraryJohn Adams' personal 3,800-volume library lives here — and any Massachusetts adult can walk in and access it.