The Old State House:
The Old State House, OSH, was built in 1713. It is the
oldest surviving public building, and was built to house the government offices
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A Merchant’s exchange was located on the first
floor, and the basement was rented out to be used by a warehouse by people like
John Hancock. The Council Chamber of the Royal Governor was located upstairs on
the second floor, and James Otis argued against the Writs of Assistance in
there in 1761. The second floor was also the meeting place for the
Massachusetts Assembly. The west end of the building housed the Courts of
Suffolk County and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for many years as
well. Outside the Old State House, the Boston Massacre occurred on March 5,
1770. The balcony of the building was also the site for a historic moment, when
the Declaration of Independence was first read in the United States on July 18th,
1776. Later on that day, the statues of the lion and unicorn which were on the
building and represented symbols of British royal authority were burned by the
crowd.
The Old State House served as the location for the seat of
Massachusetts government until a new state house was built on Beacon Hill in
1798. From 1830-1841 the building was
used as Boston’s city hall. From 1841 onwards until the 1870s, the building was
used for commercial use. In 1879, a group of concerned citizens formed the
Boston Antiquarian Club after it became evident that the building was being
considered to be demolished by the city of Boston. In 1881, the group renamed
themselves the Bostonian Society and started preserving and restoring the
building, as well as starting to use the building as a museum for Boston
History. From 1909-1947, the Old State
House let the Boston Maritime Museum borrow space in order to display their own
collections. Currently, the Old State House museum focuses on the American
Revolution, particularly about Boston and the Old State House. It’s one of the
main attractions on the Freedom Trail, and is a National Historic Landmark.
Restoration/Preservation:
The original restoration of the building was led by George
Clough in 1881, with the goal being to return the Old State House to its 18th
century appearance. Clough removed the east portico which had been added in
1830, and removed the late 19th century mansard roof. The lion and
unicorn symbols which were burned in 1776, were added to the east gable, and an
American eagle and the Massachusetts seal and motto were added on the west end.
From 1903-1904, subway tunnels were added beneath the Old State House. These
subway tunnels, the State street stop, have the orange and blue line run
through it. Sometimes, if it’s super quiet in the gift shop, you can actually
hear the noises from the subway and sometimes feel a rumble from the train
coming through. In 1908, the city of Boston hired Joseph Everett Chandler, a
renowned restoration architect, to further restore the Old State House. He used
a 1793 engraving of the building as his guide, and restored the north, south,
and west doorways, replaced the granite around the foundation with brick,
replaced window sash, and removed the paint from the exterior brick walls. In
1943, the architectural firm Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn restored the Council
Chamber to a more colonial appearance by changing Clough’s designs to reflect a
more 18th century look.
In 2006, the American Association for State and Local
History presented the Bostonian Society a national award for its preservation
project on the northeast corner, which was featured on an episode of the
History Channel’s series Save Our History. In 2008, another award by the Boston
Preservation Alliance was given due to the restoration of the tower. Recently
in 2015, the Bostonian Society was honored with a BPA Preservation award for
the restoration of the iconic lion and unicorn statues on top of the east
parapet of the Old State House. This project was completed in 2014 and was a
joint effort with Skyline Studios. In 2014, work was finished on the
restoration and repair of the west façade, which included resetting all loose
bricks and replacing isolated deteriorated bricks, and repairing windows to
prevent water leak issues. From 2014-2015, work was also done to restore the
balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read. This included
replacement of the decayed wooden corner posts and rails, resurfacing of the
copper deck, repair of the doors and surrounds, re-flashing and sealing of
areas connecting the masonry and wood and repainting of all woodwork.
The focus on preservation and restoration fits perfectly
with the Bostonian Society’s mission statement. [2]
Disaster Planning:
The D-team consists of seven staff members, including the
Facilities and Operations Manager, Matt O., Collections Manager, Tricia, and my
two bosses Alex and Grace. They meet every other week to discuss upcoming
weather events and train. Last Thursday the meeting consisted of planning for
actions to be taken if an active shooter walked in. When a problem arises, this
team surveys the problem and fixes it as soon as possible. For example, one of
the days I was scheduled to work when I first got hired, a pipe burst making it
so the entire building was 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is unsafe for people
and extremely harmful to the collections and building. So, the museum was closed
for the day and I actually got to have the day off while the D-Team worked to
fix the problem.
Accessibility:
I got to talk with Matt O. the Facilities and Operation
Manager directly about accessibility. He informed me that they are actively
trying to figure out how to make the 300-year-old building more accessible.
Some ideas include changing the entrance door in order to make a ramp. Another
idea is constructing a lift in order to help handicapped people go up to the
second floor of the museum. He also expressed the desire to make it more
accessible to blind, deaf, etc., He also informed me that we used to have
Braille guides for the exhibits, but once the exhibits were changed
significantly, the guides were then outdated. All of our material is in
English, but we do have a hand-out outlining the history of the building in a
few languages which include Spanish, Greek, French, Italian, and Japanese.
Governance:
The Bostonian Society is a non-profit organization that receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which is a state agency. The current President and Executive Director of the
Bostonian Society is Brian LeMay. Also a board of directors with 18 members on
it. Non-profit dedicated to the Old State House. Mission Statement: The
Bostonian Society is dedicated to studying, and preserving Boston’s uniquely
important history, embodied in materials, records, and structures such as the
Old State House, and in sharing an understanding of the revolutionary ideas
born here. [3]. The Old State house is actually owned by the City of Boston and operated by the Bostonian Society, The Bostnian Society works with the City of Boston and the National Park Service in their efforts to preserve the building. [4]
Membership[5] :
People can become members of the Bostonian Society somewhat easily if one is willing to pay a decent amount of money.
Benefits of membership include:
- Free admission to the Old State House museum;
- Free admission to the Society's research library;
- Invitations to lectures, programs, and special members-only events;
- A 20% discount on purchases at the Society's Old State House, Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall museum shops;
- A 20% discount on photograph orders from the library;
The different membership levels are:
- Individual ($50);
- Senior 62+ ($40);
- Teacher or Student ($25);
- Family ($80)
- Supporter ($150), which includes a 20% discount on the cost of memberships
- Benefactor ($500), which includes all of the benefits listed above, plus a 50% discount on the cost of memberships and a 20% discount on the rental of the Old State House for private functions
Functions/Services:
You can rent out the Old State House for parties and weddings. These take place in Representatives Hall. One fun thing that is special for weddings is that the bride can actually go out on the balcony, which is something not normally allowed due to safety concerns.
School groups can also schedule visits to the Old State House, and have special tours given to them.
Many events take place around and in the Old State House. One upcoming even is the play
Blood on the Snow, with performances from May 13 - June 5 at
7:00 pm in the Old State House. The description is below:
Synopsis: Many know the story of the Boston Massacre, but
few know of the events that took place the day after, on March 6, 1770. Blood
on the Snow is a new play by Patrick Gabridge, set and staged in the Council
Chamber of the Old State House. Almost 250 years ago, in that very room, the
leaders of Boston struggled to heal their town and unwittingly placed
Massachusetts on the road to revolution.[5]
Another upcoming event is Rum + Revolution, Thursday, June 9, 2016 from 6:00pm-8:00pm. The synopsis is below:
Synopsis: New Revolutionary Characters will be revealed
during this rum and chocolate tasting at the Old State House.
- John Singleton Copley, painter
- William Baker, the doorkeeper
- Robert Love, the warner of strangers
- Benjamin Sault, a cooper
- Jacobina Day, Illegitimate daughter of a sewing teacher
- Peggy Moore, widowed tavern keeper [7]
Collections/Exhibits:
The collections are mostly American Revolution and 18th
century focused. We have paintings, scupltures, textiles, archival materials, records, and artifacts. We have some items on display in the museum, like John
Hancock’s coat. We have a lot of print material, and actually have an original
print of Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre, that only comes out to the public on
the anniversary of the Boston Massacre. The print material all comes from the
Librarian and Archivist Elizabeth Roscio. 90% of the collections are not on
display. There are portraits, some furniture, and many objects. Most of it is
in a warehouse that is off-site. We still have material from the Maritime
Museum, as well as unsolicited and irrelevant donations from the time when the
collections managers were not good about saying “no”. De-accessioning is the
main goal, since we have too many items stored off-site. We recently gave the Omni
Parker Hotel one of their doors we had, and they have it on display. Collection
is mostly donations. We have a lot of John Hancock’s object, including his
bible, door, and chair which makes sense since he used to use the building as a
warehouse. These aspects of the collection are not that accessible. The collection
is mostly in good condition. The Collections Manager and Exhibitions
Coordinator is Tricia Gilrein. Most of this information is from the Revolutionary
Characters Manager Daud Alzayer and Education Assistant Ben. I tried talking
with Tricia, but we were both busy at work the one day we tried to communicate
and I haven’t been able to reach her via e-mail.
The Bostonian Society has a library and archive. There is a research library and a collection of over 7500 books, 350 maps, and over 30,000 photographs [8]. The link to
view their online catalog on the official website doesn’t work. It’s open to the
public by appointment, Monday through Friday. It houses historical documents
like manuscripts, newspapers, broadsides and photography. The library and archives have a very small staff, and only can answer reference questions regarding,"...the history of the Old State House, 18th century Boston, Boston's role in the American Revolution, and to questions that relate directly to our manuscript collection and photographs" [9].
Museum Today:
The museum is open almost every day from 9-5, except for major holidays. Prices for the museum are $10 for general admission, $8.50
for students and seniors, and members, children under 18, and military are
free. You can also buy tickets online at http://www.revolutionaryboston.org/revboston/visit/, which isn’t that common. We also offer ticket packages, like the Freedom Trail
Combo Ticket which is for OSH, Old South Meeting House and the Paul Revere house.
We also accept Old Town Trolley, Groupon, and Go Boston passes. We also sell
Super Duck Tours, Upper Deck Trolley, and Old Town Trolley tickets. Once a guest pays admission they are given a “Character
Card” which is based on a real person from the American Revolution in Boston.
The cards give background information on the person, as well as fun facts and
an indication as to whether or not they were a Loyalist or Patriot. Throughout
the exhibits, there are questions asking the guests to figure out how their
character would feel or react to a certain situation. Besides being an
interactive idea, it also helps staff to know who paid entrance for the museum.
The first floor in the museum is a small gallery with
exhibits and much historical information giving the guest the background of the
Revolutionary War with a focus on Boston and the Old State House. Up the stairs
on the second floor in the museum there are “Hands-on History” rooms which are
interactive for children and adults. Includes a small puzzle and “smell”
timeline. The Boston Massacre Multimedia Room has a short video about the
Massacre playing. The Council Chamber and Representatives Hall are designed and
set up to look as they would have back in the 18th century colonial
period. They aren’t exact replicas since we don’t have images from back in the
18th century, but they follow colonial designs and styles. In the
basement there is a display about the preservation done on the building,
restrooms, and staff offices. On the 3rd floor, which is
inaccessible to guests, houses more staff offices. Access to the tower is
prohibited, except for staff.
The museum is designed to be self-guided, but guided talks
are offered throughout the day from 10-4. The first is the Old State House
tour, which gives a history of the architectural changes in the building. The
second tour is the Boston Massacre tour, which gives the Bostonian Society’s interpretation
of the Massacre, and brings guests outside to the actual site when the weather
is nice. At 3 PM. every day is the daily special, which is one of the Education
Assistant’s special tours they designed. For example, Education Assistant
Deidre’s special tour is the “Road to Independence”, and Ellie’s is about “Revolutionary
Women”. During the summer, Revolutionary Characters Live is offered, which
entails an actor portraying a person from Boston during the American Revolution
and giving guests an overview of their life, and offers an opportunity for
guests to ask questions to the character.
Social Media:
The Old State House maintains a pretty engaged presence on social media. There is an active blog post. There's also a Facebook page, a Twitter page, an Instagram page, and a YouTube channel. There are two different websites, which is a little confusing. One is clearly nicer and easier to navigate than the other. I was informed, after asking my supervisor, that we are in the process of updating and changing the website which is why it's a little confusing.
Conclusion:
Overall, the Old State House Museum has a defined focus on representing the history of the building itself, and the American Revolutionary time period in Boston. The Bostonian Society is dedicated to preserving and maintaining the building as best as possible. Ideas have been presented to make the museum more accessible, but finding a viable one is difficult due to the delicate nature of the 300 year old building. The social media presence is impressive, since it's updated relatively often. The exhibits themselves fit in with the goal of presenting Revolutionary War history, and the guided talks offered throughout the day at the museum also add to the goal of providing the guest accurate information about the Old State House and it's important role during the American Revolution. I unfortunately was unable to talk with the Collections Manager directly, but was able to gleam information from other coworkers regarding the collection. I was wary of disclosing much of the collection information due to not being able to talk with her to make sure it was okay for me to talk about it and that it was accurate. Doing this project helped me understand more about how a museum is run, and helped give me a better understanding of my workplace.
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