The Bostonian Society d/b/a Boston Historical Society

CONTACT:

206 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02109
617-720-1713 ext. 11
www.bostonhistory.org

Brian W.J. LeMay, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

In 1881, members of the Boston Antiquarian Society founded The Bostonian Society, to save the Old State House from demolition as a traffic (i.e., of carriages and wagons!) nuisance and an eyesore (!!). The Old State House, however, is Boston’s oldest public building (erected in 1713), and a birthplace of the American Revolution—one of the most important pre-Revolutionary public buildings in America. John Adams later said that here “the child Independence was born”. In 2006, following a structural near-disaster, the Society launched a five-year project to stabilize, restore, and reinterpret the Old State House in time for its tricentennial in 2013. The Project, which was the subject of a History Channel broadcast, has received grants and awards from the American Association for State and Local History, the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund, the new Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, and leading donors. Today TBS operates the Old State House under a long-term lease from the City; it has an annual visitation of 102,00. Future plans include developing a sharper focus on the significance of the building to the birth of American democracy in the 18th century and especially in and around the Revolution. Membership in the Society is open to all—this is your chance to connect.

(2008: CULTURE: Education: Informal: Historic)