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In the hush, there’s an echo of far away footsteps, the indistinct murmur of quiet conversations. The polished marble floors gleam, chandeliers hang heavy, their bulbs making unobtrusive rainbows of refracted light in inconspicuous corners.
There’s a weight to the Massachusetts State House sitting regally atop Beacon Hill.
It exudes a sense of history, a gravitas. But even as the murals and paintings, the statues and collection of battlefield colors, speak to its age, it is not some dusty old relic, long forgotten and unused.
Outside on any given day, people gather to protest current events, march and rally to urge their legislators to approve a bill, pass a measure, support a cause. The Legislature meets, by law, every three days, even if it’s just for five minutes, in both formal and informal sessions.
The public is welcomed in, allowed to wander, permitted to watch democracy in action from the gallery. Tourists from around the world enter to see for themselves one of the historic places that helped frame the American experience; an experience that changed the world.
Well, not that structure.
The original State House served to house the British Colonial government between 1713-1798 and it was tiny. At least according to Matt Landon, the docent working May 16 who gave a tour (they are free) to two graduate students, Audrey Hartis from North Carolina and Taylor Petrucci from Walpole (who admitted she may have missed the middle school class trip to the State House), a reporter, and an Italian couple who had wandered in off the street.
Serendipity.
How do I book a State House tour?
The State House is a public building open from 8:45 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays; all are welcome. Tours are offered weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and last about 45 minutes. They start in Doric Hall.
The director suggests calling ahead, 617-727-3676, to schedule, however, self-guided tours are allowed. Virtual tours are available through the malegislature.gov/statehouse/tour website and through the Secretary of State’s Office (William Gavin).
High school students interested in becoming docents for the summer can apply on line through the website.
Docents start the official tours behind the rarely used front doors. Ceremonial in nature, they open into Doric Hall, and onto the steps leading to The Common. They are opened to admit the return of regimental battlefield flags (some 400 to date), to welcome visiting heads of state (President William Howard Taft when he threw the first pitch at Fenway) and to usher an exiting governor down the steps and onto The Common on their last day in office.
The columns were originally made of timber hewn from the Boston Common, but, because of fire concerns, were long ago replaced. A scale model of the original building sits in the hall under glass.
It was, indeed, tiny: 65-feet by 120-feet, Landon says of the original building, but once housed both the legislative and executive branches. The current structure, designed by American architect Charles Bulfinch, was originally twice as large and boasted a second story. It was added on and enlarged over the centuries: the Charles Brigham wing was added in 1895, and the East and West wings were completed in 1917.
The signature gold dome (a thin layer of 23 carat gold leaf cost $300,000 to install in 1997) was originally wood. It leaked. It was covered with copper sheeting, a job assigned to Paul Revere (yes, the same one). When the copper oxidized and turned green, gold leaf was the answer ($3,000 in 1874).
“The leaf is reapplied every 20-to-30 years,” Landon said, pointing out it will be time soon.
What will I see at the State House?
The first piece of artwork in the State House is a romanticized statue of Gen. George Washington, draped in a toga (a la Caesar) to denote democracy and governance.
The portrait of Abraham Lincoln depicts him standing; a rare image as he was self-conscious of his height. It was completed 35 years after his death.
There’s a statue of John A. Andrew (the state’s 25th governor) who formed the first Black regiments in Massachusetts that fought for the Union in the Civil War. And a bust of the state’s first governor, John Hancock, who owned the land where the State House was built and sold it to Massachusetts in 1793.
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A statue of William Francis Bartlett, a Haverhill native, holds a place of honor. Ditching his studies at Harvard, he enlisted in the Union Army, was wounded, lost a leg, re-enlisted (eventually serving four tours of duty) and promoted to Brigadier General by the age of 24.
The Nurses Hall was renamed (from Senate Staircase Hall) to honor Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix and Louisa May Alcott (she served as a nurse during the Civil War and wrote “Hospital Sketches” about her experiences).
Murals, depicting local history, from the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere’s Ride, the Return of the Colors and the Battle of Concord Bridge, grace the walls. Stained glass ceilings depicting the seals of the original 13 states, rosettes symbolizing democracies from around the world: Holland, Iceland, Helvetia, Florence are illuminated from behind, splashing color.
The tour stops in the governor’s office, the reception area (complete with comfy couches and gifts to the governors) is lined with portraits of past leaders, each governor is allowed to choose one to hang in the inner-sanctum. (Deval Patrick chose John Andrew.)
What other interesting things should I know about the State House?
The Senate Reading Room boasts a round table smack dab in the middle that is divided into 13 slices, like a pie; each piece a different size to represent the original 13 colonies.
When measuring the distances from anywhere to the center of Boston; that center mark is located under the State House golden dome.
The Senate and House exchanged chambers, with the Senate taking over the space formerly occupied by the House. In the transition, the Senate coveted a sculpture hanging in the House chambers, the “Sacred Cod” donated to the House by local fishers to denote the importance of the fishing industry in Massachusetts. The Senate envisioned the sculpture would remain in the Senate Chambers.
“The representatives took the cod with them when they moved,” Landon said. Not to be stymied, the senators commissioned their own cod, dubbed the “Holy Mackerel.”
The government currently consists of 40 senators, 160 representatives. The number has changed over time: there were 400 representatives in the 1800’s; 270 in the 1970’s.
Don’t miss the ‘hall’ at the State House
The tour would not be complete without a stop in the Hall of Flags. The courtyard is a ceremonial space, surrounded on all sides, and has a glassed ceiling. It was a hard space. It echoed.
To mitigate the reverberation, and to decorate the space, flags representing (almost) all 351 municipalities in Massachusetts were hung. Oh, just so we’re clear, the hanging clock, a piece of art, also keeps perfect time.
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Landon singles out some of them: the first is Plymouth (of course), incorporated in 1620. The banners are hung in chronological order, based on when each community was incorporated. The last flag, a white banner, belongs to East Brookfield, incorporated in 1920. A computer monitor can help searchers find specific flags and save them from neck cricks.
“Some of these flags were designed specifically for this room,” Landon said.
The official tour ends in Heroes Hall, dedicated to Massachusetts women who helped shape the state. Lucy Stone: a feminist and abolitionist, was the first woman to graduate from college (Oberlin), Dorothea Dix, an advocate for mental health, Florence Luscombe, an MIT architectural graduate, Mary Kenny O’Sullivan a labor union organizer, among others.
“I really enjoyed the tour,” said Petrucci. “I would recommend it to everybody.”
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