Massachusetts State House

File:MAstatehouse62.jpg image of the State House {{Circa|1862}}, before wings were added to the building]]

File:StateHouse ca1895 Boston.png

Today the building officially functions and is maintained under the auspices of the Superintendent of the Bureau of the State House.[https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter8].

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The building is situated on {{cvt|6.7|acre}} of land on top of Beacon Hill in Boston, opposite the Boston Common on Beacon Street. It was built on land once owned by John Hancock, Massachusetts's first elected governor. The Masonic cornerstone ceremony took place on July 4, 1795, with Paul Revere, then Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, presiding.{{Cite news |last=Onion |first=Rebecca |date=2015-01-07 |title=So, What Was In That Boston Time Capsule? |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/01/history-of-time-capsules-boston-statehouse-time-capsule-opening.html |access-date=2023-10-02 |issn=1091-2339}}

Before the current State House was completed in 1798, Massachusetts's government house was the Old State House on what is now Washington Street. For the building's design, architect Charles Bulfinch made use of two existing buildings in London: William Chambers's Somerset House,{{cite book| last=Shand-Tucci| first=Douglass| title=Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800–2000| page=6| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pE-raWX3k8kC&q=bulfinch| publisher=University of Massachusetts Press| location=Amherst| year=1999| isbn=978-1558492011}} and James Wyatt's Pantheon.{{cite book |authorlink1=Marcus Whiffen |first1=Marcus |last1=Whiffen |last2=Koeper| first2=Frederick| title=American Architecture, 1607–1976| publisher=MIT Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4URzmqgJfIC&q=massachusetts| year=1983| page=110| isbn=978-0262730693| access-date=April 12, 2019}}.

After Maine separated from Massachusetts and became an independent state in 1820, Charles Bulfinch designed Maine's capitol building with architectural influence of the Massachusetts Capitol building with a simplified Greek Revival influence.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

The Commonwealth completed a major expansion of the original building in 1895.{{cite web| url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf3.htm| title=Massachusetts Facts| website=Secretary of the Commonwealth| access-date=12 April 2019}} The architect for the annex was Bostonian Charles Brigham.

In 1917, the east and west wings, designed by architects Sturgis, Bryant, Chapman & Andrews, were completed.{{cite web| url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/trs/trsbok/exterior_tour.pdf| title=A Tour of the Grounds of the Massachusetts State House| website=Massachusetts Secretary of State| access-date=April 11, 2019}}

In July 2016, Governor Charlie Baker proposed to the state legislature to sell {{convert|300|sqft}} of permanent easement on the west side of the State House lawn to a neighboring condominium. The land in question was once pasture owned by John Hancock and the easement would allow for the addition of au pair units.{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Frank |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/20/baker-seeks-sell-sliver-state-house-lawn-luxury-condo-complex/yI2dAxHg6B9I9PtzcRoVzO/story.html |title=Baker wants to sell part of State House lawn |work=The Boston Globe |date=2016-07-21 |access-date=2016-07-21 }} Through legislation passed by the legislature the land surrounding the state house is considered "open space".[https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter8/Section16]

The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 by Paul Revere's Revere Copper Company. Revere was the first American to roll copper successfully into sheets (for copper sheathing) in a commercially viable manner.

The dome was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded with gold leaf in 1874. During World War II, the dome was painted gray once again, to prevent reflection during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks.{{cite web| title=Massachusetts State House| url=https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/massachusetts-state-house| website=The Freedom Trail| access-date=April 11, 2019}} The dome was re-gilded in 1969, at a cost of $36,000. Don Aucoin. "Dome in Decline." Boston Globe, February 15, 1997, pp. A1, A9. Then, in July 1997, the dome was once again re-gilded, in 23k gold. The estimated cost this time was $1.5 million. "Statehouse Dome Undergoes Golden Re-gilding." North Adams (Mass.) Transcript, July 22, 1997, p. B 8.

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 a district of the Commonwealth when the Bulfinch section of the building was completed.

In front of the building is an equestrian statue of General Joseph Hooker. Other statues in front of the building include Daniel Webster, educator Horace Mann, and former US President John F. Kennedy. The statues of Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer are located on the lawns below the east and west wings. Inside the building is a statue of William Francis Bartlett, an officer in the Civil War.

The original red-brick Bulfinch building contains the Governor's offices (on the west end) with the Massachusetts Senate occupying the former House of Representatives Chamber under the dome. The Massachusetts 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 the fishing industry to the early Massachusetts economy.[http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/massachusettshouse.asp Massachusetts State House], via cityofboston.gov

The House Chamber is decorated with murals by Albert Herter,{{cite web |url=https://malegislature.gov/VirtualTour/ListView?floorId=3&locationId=5 |title=House Chamber Artifact List |author= |website=malegislature.gov |publisher=Massachusetts Legislature |access-date=2020-05-24 }} father of Massachusetts Gov. Christian Herter. Murals on the second floor under the dome were painted by artist Edward Brodney.{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E2D9103DF93AA2575BC0A9649C8B63 |title=Edward Brodney, 92, Who Painted War Scenes |date=2002-08-19 |access-date=2008-10-21 |work=The New York Times |first=Douglas |last=Martin}} Brodney won a competition to paint the first mural in a contest sponsored by the Works 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.{{cite book |last=Bruckman|first=Amy S.|author-link=|date=2022|access-date=2022-02-24|title=Should You Believe Wikipedia?|url=https://www.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/bruckman-believe-wikipedia-draft2020.pdf|location=Cambridge MA|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=83|isbn=9781108490320}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://bwht.org/tours/downtown|title=Boston Women's Heritage Trail |access-date=2009-11-26}} The New York Times notes that the murals are relatively rare examples of military art with women as their subjects.

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:{{cite web |url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf3.htm#doric|title=Massachusetts Facts Part 3, The State House, Doric Hall |publisher=Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=20 January 2017}}

1. When the President of the United States or a foreign head of state visits.
2. When the Governor exits the building on his or her last day in office. The Governor descends the staircase, crosses Beacon Street, and enters Boston Common, symbolically rejoining the people of Massachusetts as a private citizen.
3. When a regimental flag is returned from battle. Since the regimental flags now return to Washington, D.C., this has not been done since the Vietnam War.

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 the Civil War. The stained glass skylight above contains the seals of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States, with the Massachusetts seal in the center.https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/state-house-tours/trsbok/flag.htm

The Samuel 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.

The State House contains the primary offices of all the commonwealth's constitutional officers with exception of the Attorney General, who is based at the nearby McCormack Building.

• Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Room 360){{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciscig/c/c2c5.htm |title=Citizen's Guide to State Services |author= |website=sec.state.ma.us |publisher=Secretary William Francis Galvin |access-date=2020-05-24 }}
• Governor's Council (Room 184){{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciscig/c/c2c5.htm |title=Citizen's Guide to State Services |author= |website=sec.state.ma.us |publisher=Secretary William Francis Galvin |access-date=2020-05-24 }}
• Secretary of the Commonwealth (Room 340){{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciscig/c/c6.htm |title=Citizen's Guide to State Services |author= |website=sec.state.ma.us |publisher=Secretary William Francis Galvin |access-date=2020-05-24 }}
• Treasurer and Receiver-General (Room 227){{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciscig/c/c8c15.htm |title=Citizen's Guide to State Services |author= |website=sec.state.ma.us |publisher=Secretary William Francis Galvin |access-date=2020-05-24 }}
• Auditor (Room 230){{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciscig/c/c16c20.htm |title=Citizen's Guide to State Services |author= |website=sec.state.ma.us |publisher=Secretary William Francis Galvin |access-date=2020-05-24 }}

The majority of State House office space is given over to the Legislature. Every member of the House and Senate is assigned an office. Large third-floor suites are assigned to the House Speaker{{cite web |url=https://malegislature.gov/VirtualTour/Room/10 |title=Office of the Speaker of the House Panorama |author= |website=malegislature.gov |publisher=Massachusetts Legislature |access-date=2020-05-24 }} (Room 356) and Senate President{{cite web |url=https://malegislature.gov/VirtualTour/Room/11 |title=Office of the Senate President Panorama |author= |website=malegislature.gov |publisher=Massachusetts Legislature |access-date=2020-05-24 }} (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 of Newspaper 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.{{cite act |type=Resolve |index=44 |date=1909 |article= |article-type= |legislature=Massachusetts General Court |title=Resolve Relative To Quarters In The State House Assigned To Members Of The Press |trans-title= |page= |url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/817175 |language=}} The Massachusetts State House Press Association, established in 1909, governs these shared workspaces.{{cite web |url=https://mastatehousepress.wixsite.com/mastatehousepress/about |title=About Us |author= |website=mastatehousepress.wixsite.com/mastatehousepress |publisher=Massachusetts State House Press Association |access-date=2020-05-24 }} Some individual news outlets have separate offices.

• Press Gallery—Headquarters of State House reporters for Associated Press, WWLP-TV, the Eagle-Tribune papers, Lowell Sun, WGBH-FM, Springfield Republican/Masslive, and Politico{{cite web |url=https://mastatehousepress.wixsite.com/mastatehousepress/members |title=Members |author= |website=mastatehousepress.wixsite.com/mastatehousepress |publisher=Massachusetts State House Press Association |access-date=2020-05-24 }}
• State House News Service newsroom
• WBUR-FM State House bureau
• Boston Globe State House bureau
• Kevin McNicholas Room, a shared space for broadcast stations

A suite of rooms on the fifth floor is home to the Massachusetts headquarters of several veterans' groups, including the American 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, and Vietnam Veterans of America.{{cite web |url=http://www.medfordma.org/departments/veterans/service-organizations-for-all-veterans/ |title=Service Organizations for All Veterans |author= |website=medfordma.org |date=August 13, 2013 |publisher=City of Medford |access-date=2020-05-24 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.lynnma.gov/cityhall_documents/veterans/Statewide%20Veteran%20Organizaions.pdf |title=Veteran Organizations |author= |website=lynnma.gov |publisher=City of Lynn |access-date=2020-05-24 }}

One of Boston's most enduring nicknames, "The Hub of the Universe",{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/boston_nicknames/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |title=Boston's nicknames: Beantown, Hub, the Walking City |date=August 10, 2006}} stems from a remark by Oliver Wendell Holmes from his 1858 book The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table in which he mentions the State House:{{cite book | title=The Nuttall Encyclopædia by P. Austin Nuttall | via=Project Gutenberg | date=2004-05-01 | url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12342 | access-date=2021-03-15}} "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".{{cite book| title=The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table| first=Oliver Wendell| last=Holmes| year=1889| orig-year=1858| publisher=Houghton, Mifflin and Company| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvWLTPy1zT4C&q=autocrat+of+the+breakfast+table&pg=PA172| page=172}}

File:Aerial view of Massachusetts State House.jpg|View from above Boston Common

File:Aerial view of Massachusetts City State House 2.jpg|Aerial view

File:Boston-view-1841-Havell.jpeg|1841 drawing of the city and State{{nbsp}}House

File:Massachusetts House of Representatives 01.jpg|House chamber

File:Massachusetts State House interior 02.jpg|Senate Chamber

File:Massachusetts State Library 02.jpg|State Library of Massachusetts reading room

File:Massachusetts State House rotunda.jpg|Rotunda

File:Statehouse - Boston, MA.jpg|Statehouse at night, 2015

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
• National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
• List of state and territorial capitols in the United States
• Statue of Henry Cabot Lodge
• History of early modern period domes

Notes

{{Reflist}}

Sources

• [http://www.cupola.com/html/bldgstru/statecap/cap05.htm Cupolas of Capitalism - State Capitol Building Histories (L-ME)] (1998–2005). Cupola.com. May 17, 2005.
• [http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/articles/evolution.htm The Evolution of the State House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305112023/http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/articles/evolution.htm |date=March 5, 2005 }} (2005). Interactive State House. Mass.gov . May 17, 2005.

• Bridgman, Arthur Milnor (1908) [https://books.google.com/books?id=8p0qAAAAYAAJ A Souvenir of Massachusetts legislators]. Stoughton, Mass.: A.M. Bridgman.
• Kirker, Harold (1969) Architecture of Charles Bulfinch. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• {{citation |title=Citing unwelcoming atmosphere, Black Beacon Hill staffers call for change |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/29/metro/citing-unwelcoming-atmosphere-black-beacon-hill-staffers-call-change/ |work=Boston Globe |author= Adrian Walker |author-link= Adrian Walker |date= July 29, 2020 }}

{{Commons category|Massachusetts State House}}

• [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/trs/trsbok/trstour.htm A Tour of the Massachusetts State House]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/mastatelibrary/sets/72157644337314258/ Images of State House], various dates (via State Library of Massachusetts on Flickr)

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Category:State capitols in the United States

Category:Beacon Hill, Boston

State House

State House

State House

Category:Government buildings completed in 1798

Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

Category:Landmarks in Beacon Hill, Boston

Category:National Historic Landmarks in Boston

Category:Works Progress Administration in Massachusetts

Category:1798 establishments in Massachusetts

Category:18th-century architecture in the United States

Category:Government buildings with domes

Category:Charles Bulfinch buildings

Category:Federal architecture in Massachusetts

Category:Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Boston