The Capitol
"A very talented man named Charles Bulfinch designed the State House
and it wasn't a cinch."
Carolyn Mulcahy
Winthrop
The Massachusetts State House is the capitol building of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, the very heart of state government.
It is the second state house Massachusetts has had. You can still see the
Old State House at the corner of State Street and Washington Street. It
was built in 1712. Before the Revolution, it was the home of the Royal government
of the colony of Massachusetts; after the Revolution it became the home
of the government of the state of Massachusetts.
By 1795, twenty years after the Revolution, the citizens of Massachusetts
decided that the old State House was too small.
To design a new, larger state house they chose Charles
Bulfinch. He was a famous Boston architect who designed some of the most
beautiful homes and churches in Boston, most of which are still in use today.
The Bulfinch State House was a dignified red brick building with white columns,
topped by an impressive dome. It was built at the top of Beacon Hill looking
out over all of the city, on land that had been John Hancock's cow pasture.
It is still the central part of the State House today, but many rooms have
been added.
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