Massachusetts State House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Massachusetts State House is the state capitol of Massachusetts. Located in the state capital of Boston in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, the building houses the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature) and the offices of the governor of Massachusetts.
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[edit] History
The State House was designed by Charles Bulfinch as a replacement for the Old State House. The cornerstone was laid by John Hancock, who previously used the location as a cow pasture, and the building was completed on January 11, 1798.
However, eighty years after the building's dedication, the original red-brick building was deemed too small and there were proposals to build a new state house in the geographical center of the state. Instead, the State House was expanded. The first was the rear addition which was added in 1831. This addition was later expanded in 1853 to 1856 and again in 1889 to 1895 by Charles Brigham. Between 1914 and 1917, two wings made of Vermont marble were added to the west and east ends of the original building to designs by Richard Clipston Sturgis.
The State House's exterior colors also changed. The entire building was painted white in 1825 and later yellow-gold in 1855. With the addition of the east and west wings, the building was again painted white. In 1928, all of the paint was removed, resulting in the current color scheme of the State House.
Furthermore, the dome itself wasn't always gold. After being clad in copper, it was first painted gray and then light yellow. The dome was repainted gray in 1831. It was not gilded with gold leaf until 1874. However, the dome was painted gray during World War II to prevent enemy ships from using the dome to aim their guns.
The building's exterior underwent a major renovation in 2001 and 2002. During that time, the exterior was covered with a shroud with pictures of three hills, including Beacon Hill, that once stood in the area.
[edit] Description
The building sits on 6.7 acres (27,000 m²) of land on top of Beacon Hill in Boston. It is the oldest remaining building in that location.
The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802. It was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded with gold leaf in 1874. The dome is topped with a pine cone representing the state of Maine, which was a district of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 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.
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.
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 two occasions:
- When the President of the United States or foreign head of state visits.
- When the Governor exits the building on his last day in office. This tradition is known as the Long Walk and begins when the Governor, alone, exits the Executive Chamber, walks down to the 2nd floor, through Doric Hall and out the main doors. He then descends the staircase, crosses the street and enters Boston Common, symbolically rejoining the people of Massachusetts as a private citizen.
[edit] Trivia
The producers of the movie Amistad used several interior shots of the State House. One scene included the House of Representatives Chamber, which was briefly seen as the US House of Representatives Chamber.
Also, highway signs indicating the distance to Boston aren't measuring the distance to the city limits. Instead, the measurements indicate the distance to the State House dome.
The State House is featured prominently in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed.
[edit] References
- Cupolas of Capitalism - State Capitol Building Histories (L-ME) (1998-2005). Cupola.com. May 17, 2005.
- The Evolution of the State House (2005). Interactive State House. Mass.gov . May 17, 2005.
[edit] External links
- A Tour of the Massachusetts State House
- Boston National Historical Park Official Website
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth
