Old State House

"Fun with the Family"

The brick Old State House, built in 1713, is the oldest surviving public building in Boston and the second-oldest public building in America. It manages to hold its own against the glass skyscrapers that surround it. Kids enjoy looking at the lion and unicorn on the building’s gables.
When the building was erected, it was the seat of the British government in the colonies, and these symbols of the Crown indicated that fact. The current lion and unicorn aren’t the originals; when the Declaration of Indpendence was read from the building’s rooftop in July 1776, Bostonians removed these symbols of the Crown and burned them. The lion and unicorn weren’t replaced until recently.
In the middle of the intersection in front of the building (Congress and State Streets) is a star inside a ring of cobblestones, marking the site of the Boston Massacre. On March 5, 1770, a frightened group of British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who had gathered to protest recent crackdowns on customs duties and taxes. Though it was hardly a massacre, five people were killed on this spot, including a former slave, Crispus Attucks.
Thereafter Sam Adams used the incident as a rallying point in his frequent speeches against the British. A new permanent exhibit, “Handon History,” is designed for children and their parents to interactively learn about the history of the Old State House.