Proudly standing as the oldest public building in Boston, The Old State House was built in 1712 to house the King's Colonial Government. It was built over the site of the first Townhouse in Boston (1658), destroyed by fire in 1711. It was gutted by fire in 1747, but the rebuilding of 1748 used much of the original brickwork.
It was from the balcony of this building that William Greenleaf, Sheriff, first read the Declaration of Independence publicly on July 18, 1776.
Under that balcony lies the circle of cobblestones marking the site of the Boston Massacre.
