Old State House

206 Washington St, Boston, MA 02109, USA

Address:	206 Washington St, Boston, MA 02109, USA
Phone:	+1 617-720-1713
Site:	revolutionaryboston.org
Rating:	4.4
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 18

Robert Ballot

Such an incredibly, preserved physical presence smack dab in the heart of one of our great cities. Looking for a way to lose yourself in early American history for a winter afternoon? Youve come to the right place. You move from room-to-room, with the exhibits presented in excellent proportion, so you dont feel your brain getting crammed with too much too quickly. If youre like me, you forgot much of what you learned in grade school about the events leading up to the American Revolution, with just a few touchstones still available for you to ponder over . . . The Boston Tea Party . . . The Boston Massacre . . . Paul Reveres Ride . . . The Old State House fills in all the blanks, all the precursors to these momentous events in an even-handed, but still thoroughly patriotic manner. There are artifacts, there are placards of explication. All seem gauged to engage but never have you peering over your shoulder to count how many more rooms there are to go through. Because youre going to want to go through them all. You would question your citizenship if you didnt, so attractively aesthetically and intellectually are the presentations. And once youve soaked all this in and become far more culturally literate about American history than you were before you stepped inside, you can step outside, immediately outside and plant your feet on that notorious / celebrated piece of earth where the Massacre occurred. Wow! In every regard. One of the signature stops on any history enthusiasts tracking of early American history.

Carolyne Volpe Curley

I love this building. My tween daughter and I visited on July 4 and it definitely set the tone for the day. 1. Yes go inside. The small gift shop is free and the National Park Rangers are there to give you background on the place. 2. Once inside you can purchase a ticket to see the rest of the building. They do have presentations but otherwise you are on your own. Follow along the exhibit to get a thorough understanding of Bostons rebelliousness which sparked off the entire Colonial Revolution. Samuel Adams is not passed over, which is often the case, and you will also note that both sides of the Boston Massacre are presented fairly. 3. There are many little stops for children and hands-on exhibits. They will love this. 4. There is a room with an audio presentation - about 5 minutes long - which again does a good job of describing the Boston Massacre incident. 5. Dont miss: John Hancock’s attire, the tiny vial of tea taken from the Boston Tea Party, the upstairs Council room where you can sit in the Royal chair at the head of the table. This is included in the Boston Go Card. Not to be missed by anyone visiting the city to explore its history. We were there for about 30 minutes.

Andrew Camara

If you like history then this is definitely for you. Even if you dont like history, then its a great landmark in Boston to visit. The Old State House was the site of the Boston Massacre, a fight in the streets of Boston between the angry colonists and British redcoats on March 5, 1770 in which 5 people died. The front of the building is where the massacre happened. There is a circle to mark the massacre on the ground in front of the building. The ground floor inside the building is used for the Boston Subway System. The second floor is a gift shop where visitors can go inside for free. The third floor is a museum where you have to pay to visit. Ive never done the museum, so I cant review on that.

Stephen Farnett

HIstory: If you are coming to Boston to learn of the early history of this country then this is where you need to go first. This is a privately held museum that is not equivalent to the Smithsonian, but does a beautiful job of teaching the past and sharing the history, not only for a general view, but also through a personalized card that gives you information on a particular person from that time frame, and asks you to put yourself in their shoes throughout the trip through history.

Dominique Freville

Cest de ce balcon que fût lue en public pour la première fois la Déclaration de lIndépendance. Sur le trottoir sous ce balcon le mémorial du massacre de Boston.

Jason Pelish

This was somewhat cool to visit although more impressive on the outside than the inside. The think that makes this building important is its age and how it was around in an earlier form during the Boston Massacre. As its one of the stops on the Revolutionary Trail, dont skip over it. I learned a thing or two from the displays upstairs, presented intelligently.

John Hughes

A fantastic piece of Colonial history still nestled inside the heart of Boston. Access to the Old State House is easily accomplished via the MBTA station that was constructed under the very building. This is a must stop location for out of town visitors and the local trying to reconnect to a very important part of history.

Ignasi Blanca

Espectacular en medio de los rascacielos, sobresale pese a su pequeño tamaño comparativo, típica arquitectura de los US.

Isa

Wow amazing to know the building is still up! And used as a train station !! You can come here every July 4th at around 10AM and they will read you the Declaration of Independence like when they first got it and made everyone gather around to read it! Its a tradition!

Barbara Gifford

One of the oldest public buildings in the United States and the oldest public building in Boston. The Declaration Of Independence was read from the balcony of this building and still is every 4th of July. Its a true historic landmark and well worth the visit.

Ricky Teter

Listened to the Boston Massacre talk which was very enlightening & a talk from an actor dressed up as John Rowe. Both were good. This is one of the places you should stop at if you are only visiting Boston for a short time. A highlight of the freedom trail.

Cheryl Day

This was one stop on our Boston trip we didnt want miss! The tour was full of history! The guide definately her history! Listening to the story you could envision yourself right in the middle of the massacre. Beautiful building kept in immaculate shape.

Ginger Redhead

It is cool to see the old building in between all the modern skyscrapers. On the other hand the cars circeling it destroy the athmosphere as does the big tourist shop in the ground floor. It is all about money and not so much about history it seems.

Whitney Magnuson

Went here for a wedding, and it was very nice, though cocktail hour among the exhibits was a bit crowded. The rest of the space worked well for a smallish (60 ppl?) wedding ceremony in the main hall and reception in the other larger part.

Wayne Geiser

A somewhat dry look at the events that led to US independence from England. We visited as part of the Free Fun Friday program and were given "identities." Unfortunately, they werent used for very much along the way through the museum.

Martin Feehan

This building is totally not worth the admission fee. Id recommend saving the money and buying a good book about the freedom trail. You would gain a lot more information. The tour guides arent very good and there is cheap signage.

Alex Cournoyer

De grands discours décisifs furent prononcés ici et eures un influence majeur sur la destinée des USA

Antoine Vidal

Must see when doing the Freedom Trail. I did not do the museum, but this piece of history is beautiful from the outside. I find the clash of styles with the modern buildings surrounding it quite beautiful.