Massachusetts State House: Home

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The Massachusetts State House was designed by seminal Boston architect Charles Bulfinch and was completed in January of 1789. Built at the top of what is now known as Beacon Hill, the site of the new State House was originally used as John Hancock's cow pasture. The building's distinctive dome was once made of wood and was later overlaid with copper by Paul Revere. In 1874, the dome was gilded in gold leaf and a gilded pinecone adorns the top of the dome, a symbol of the state's reliance on logging in the 18th century. Inside, a five-foot wooden carving of a cod hangs in the House of Representative Chamber in the State House to symbolize the importance of the salt cod industry to the Commonwealth. Today, the Massachusetts State House is one of the most magnificent public buildings in America and one of the oldest buildings in Boston's historic Beacon Hill neighborhood, with grounds covering 6.7 acres of land. (Sources: Freedom Trail)