Page 237 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

SITE OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE
A circle of cobblestones
Tower below the balcony
This is a classic example on the east fa ~a de
of Colonial style. In marks the site of the
18th-century paintings Boston Massacre.
and engravings, the tower After the Boston Tea
can clearly be seen above Party of 1773 (where Washington, D.C. •
the Boston skyline. Boston patriots, in Cobblestone cirde: site
protest at taxation, of the Boston Massacre
boarded three British ATLANTIC
OCEAN
East India Company ships and threw their cargoes
of tea into Boston Harbor), this was one of the GULF OF
MEXICO
most inflammatory events in the lead-up to the
Revolutionary War. On March 5, 1770, an unruly
mob of colonists taunted British guardsmen with
insults, rocks, and snowballs. The soldiers opened EARLY HISTORY
fire, killing five colonists. A number of articles Constructed in 1713 to replace the first Town
relating to the Boston Massacre are exhibited House, which had recently burned down, the
inside the Old State House.
Old State House is Boston's oldest surviving
public building. During its period as the seat of
the British colonial government it was also the
Boston center for the political activity that I ed
~ Eastfa~de
This fao;ade has undergone to the Revolutionary War ( 1775-81) From the
several changes. In 1956, a first-floor gallery, Boston's citizens could-for
clock from the 1820s was ~ Coundl Chamber the first time in the English-speaking world-
removed and replaced with Once the chambers for the
a replica of the sundial that royal governors, and from watch their elected legislators debate the issues
once hung here. The clock 1780, the chambers for the first of the day. The west end housed the county
has now been reinstated. governor of Massachusetts and colony law courts. The wealthy merchant
(John Hancock), this room has and patriot John Hancock, an active opponent
hosted many key even IS.
Among them were numerous of the Stamp Act (1765), which imposed a tax
impassioned speeches made on all paper goods, and the first signer of the
by Boston patriots. Declaration of Independence, had warehouse
space in the basement.

THE BOSTONIAN SOCIETY
The Bostonian Society, which maintains the
Old State House, also runs the musewm inside
the building and a library across the street.
Permanent and changing displays and exhibits
in the museum recount Boston's history, from
its settlement through to the Revolution, and
beyond. Permanent exhibitions include "From
Colony to Commonwealth," which looks at the
role of Boston and the Old State House in the
events that led to the American Revolution,
and "Treasures from the Bostonian Society's
Collections," located in the Coundl Chamber,
which features Revolutionary icons and militia
equipment. There is also a sound-and-light
show on the Boston Massacre of 1770.

LIFE IN COLONIAL BOSTON
First settled by Puritans in 1630, Boston became
one of North America's leading colonial cities.
Its life and wealth revolved around its role as a
busy seaport, but its streets were crooked, dirty,
and crowded with people and livestock. Other
problems included waste disposal, fi refighting,
and caring for the numerous poor. Unlike the
other major American cities outside of New
~ Central staircase England, Boston had a "town meeting" form
of government. This was unusually democratic
Balcony
The Declaration of Independence was for the time and helps to explain why Boston
read from here in 1776. In the 1830s, became a center of colonial resistance prior to
when the bui I ding was the city hall, the the Revolutionary War.
balcony was enlarged to two tiers.