Constructed in 1713, the Old State House was home to the Colonial Massachusetts General Court until 1798, and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. In addition, this is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. When it was constructed during the British Colonial period, a pair of seven foot tall wooden figures were added to the corners of the roof -a gold painted Lion and a silver painted Unicorn; both symbols of the British monarchy. The ground floor was dedicated as a Merchant Exchange, with warehouses in the basement. The second floor housed the Council Chamber for the Royal Governor, the court of Suffolk County, and the Massachusetts State Judicial Court. One of the notable features of this building is that it included the first public gallery in the chambers for elected officials in the English speaking world. On March 5th, 1770, the "infamous" Boston Massacre occurred in front of the Old State House. Following the American Revolution, the building served as the seat of the Massachusetts State government until 1798, and as Boston City Hall between 1830 and 1841. When, in 1881, the building was in danger of demolition because of proposed land development, the Boston Society was formed to rescue it and preserve the building as a museum.In 1960, the Old State House was designated a National Historic Landmark. This building is in the heart of Boston's Freedom Trail and is definitely worth seeing (in fact Queen Elizabeth II made it a point to visit here during her July of 1976 trip to help celebrate America's Bicentennial).
The Old State House sits at the edge of today's financial district in Boston, and only a couple of blocks from Boston Common on one side and Faneuil Hall on the other.