Which neoclassical building in Boston is the Massachusetts State House?

The Massachusetts State House is the neoclassical-era government building in Boston that serves as the seat of Massachusetts state government.

Located at 24 Beacon Street on Beacon Hill, the building was designed by Charles Bulfinch and completed in 1798. It stands on land once owned by John Hancock and replaced Boston’s earlier Old State House as the center of state government. The Massachusetts General Court and the governor’s offices remain there today.

Its original wooden dome was covered with copper by Paul Revere’s Revere Copper Company in 1802. The dome was later gilded and is topped by a pine cone, symbolizing both Massachusetts’s early lumber industry and Maine, which was once part of the Commonwealth.

A common mix-up is the Old State House, a separate downtown building associated with colonial government and the Boston Massacre. The Massachusetts State House is also commonly called the New State House or Massachusetts Statehouse.