OLD STATE HOUSE

This is the oldest surviving public building in the city, built in 1713. The site has been protected since 1960, when it was designated a National Historic Landmark. When the house that stood there was destroyed by fire, it was decided to construct a public building to serve as a market exchange and warehouse, and to house, on the first floor, the council chamber of the royal governor and the Supreme Court of Justice of Massachusetts. From its earliest days, the site was therefore an important political center. According to the second American president John Adams, it was within the walls of this public building that independence was born. And it is true that a number of key events related to the American Revolution took place here.

In 1761, Boston attorney James Otis attacked the Wrist of Assistance on these premises, a search warrant giving customs officers the right to freely search imported goods. With his formula "Taxation without representation is tyranny! "which became the banner of rebellion against the English crown, James Otis sowed the seeds of American independence.

It is also opposite the Old State House that the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770, a conflict that pitted settlers against a group of British soldiers. Six years later, as the American Revolution raged, the Declaration of Independence of the United States was read publicly from a balcony of the Old State House by Thomas Craft, one of the Sons of Liberty. Between 1776 and 1798, the building became the seat of government in Massachusetts, and then served as the city's mayor's office between 1830 and 1841. It was then converted into a commercial establishment until 1891 and was rented by various companies until the Bostonian Society decided to buy the building, when rumors of destruction became increasingly persistent.

Today, Old State House is home to a historical museum run by the Bostonian Society, which tells the story of the city. Historical documents, maps, newspaper clippings, and period artifacts such as the coat worn by patriot John Hancock can be viewed. Guided tours provide a wealth of detail on this site, widely considered one of the cradles of the American Revolution. Surrounded by large, more modern buildings, some with glass and steel architecture, it stands out remarkably from its surrounding environment. Old State House is part of the Freedom Trail.