The Old State House a/k/a the Old Provincial State House, is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1713. It was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798. It is located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States.
Old State House in 2013
This engraving by Paul Revere, portraying the Boston Massacre, shows the Old State House sitting prominently behind the action.
The steeple on the west end
The Old State House in the 1950s
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when the colonial assembly, in addition to making laws, sat as a judicial court of appeals. Before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780, it was called the Great and General Court, but the official title was shortened by John Adams, author of the state constitution. It is a bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members; until 1978, the state house had 240 members. It meets in the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston.
Massachusetts General Court
Old State House in Boston, seat of the General Court from 1713 to 1774 and 1780 to 1798
Chamber of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts State House in Boston, the seat of the General Court and the state's governor since 1798