Building / Landmark · 1713 · Boston

Old State House

Boston’s oldest surviving public building (1713), seat of colonial government; the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians from its balcony on July 18, 1776.

Follow the civic story Open in the atlas

Photograph · Wikimedia Commons

Why it matters

The single densest point in Boston’s historical graph — Massacre below the balcony, Declaration from it, the T running beneath it.

Open the full civic recordCurrent pulse, routes, recommendations, and memory

Living object

Now, then, future

Every object is temporal: what it feels like now, what it used to mean, and what it can become next.

Now

busy but readable. Best now: the older layer.

Then

1591: Midwife and theologian (1591–1643) whose weekly meetings challenged Boston’s ministers; tried for heresy and banished in 1638 — the colony’s founding argument about conscience and authority.

Future

2026: America’s 250th — July 4, 2026.

Current modegolden hour

Historical echoAnne Hutchinson

Connected eventBoston 400 — The Quadricentennial (2030)

Pulse

How it feels right now

Current energybusy but readable

Best nowthe older layer

Best timegolden hour

historicserendipitous

Rain scoreexcellent

Indoor escapes within a few blocks.

Laptop friendlinessdecent

Coffee, libraries, bookstores, and campus edges.

Student presencehigh

How strongly the nearby graph reads as campus life.

Tourist pressurelow

Fame, landmark pull, and visitor-facing assets.

Historic densitystrong

Older records and historical edges around this object.

Serendipityhigh

Different kinds of things hiding within a short walk.

Turn this into a walk

Routes with a point of view

Make it walkableShow me the best 45 minutes from here

Turn the surrounding graph into a short, walkable next move.

Nearby · editorially filtered →

What should I see next?

Chosen moves from here

01The right next stopBoston MuseumClose enough to feel spontaneous, different enough to change the texture of the visit.2 min walk 02Same story, different centuryPierce–Hichborn HouseA time jump that keeps the civic argument going.Building / Landmark 03Follow “Revolutionary Boston”Founding of Boston (1630)The Revolution didn’t happen in a museum — it happened on these streets, in this order. Follow the events as they unfolded, from the city’s founding to the shot heard round the world.Historical event 04The connection you would miss on a mapThe Freedom TrailA civic relationship that is easier to understand once you see the graph.Attraction 05The connection you would miss on a mapAmerica’s 250th — July 4, 2026ceremonial center.Recurring event

The editor's hand

Human recommendations

The Civic Graph Editorial DeskEditorial standardLook for the older layer before you move on. This object is connected to more than its facade suggests.Pierce–Hichborn House →

Civic memory

What this meant before

17131713Old State House enters the civic record here.1742Faneuil Hall"The Cradle of Liberty" — the 1742 meeting hall where Samuel Adams and generations of agitators rallied Boston, atop a still-working public market.1770Boston Massacre (1770)On March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd outside the Old State House, killing five — including Crispus Attucks, often called the first casualty of the Revolution.1776Boston Hears the Declaration (1776)On July 18, 1776, Col.

Established: 1713
Address: 206 Washington St, Boston
Online: Official site ↗
Graph connections: 6

Plan your visit

Websitebostonhistory.org ↗

Get there

T · Transit Uber Lyft Walk

In the graph 6 relationships — first-class data, not links

Explore Old State House in the interactive Graph Explorer — click to expand every connection →

Boston Massacre (1770)outside its doors Boston Hears the Declaration (1776)from the balcony America’s 250th — July 4, 2026ceremonial center The Freedom Trail

Near

Faneuil Hall2 min walk

Located in

Boston

Nearby what sits within a few minutes’ walk

Historical event · 1 min walk

Boston Massacre (1770)

Historical event · 1 min walk

Boston Hears the Declaration (1776)

Recurring event · 1 min walk

America’s 250th — July 4, 2026

Historical context

Boston Massacre (1770)1770 Boston Hears the Declaration (1776)1776 America’s 250th — July 4, 20262026 First American Newspaper (1704)1704

An unexpected connection

Old State House is linked, through the graph, to The Freedom Trail — attraction, 10 min walk away. The kind of thread you only find by following the connections.

Keep exploring graph-powered — every path below is a real relationship, not a guess

NearbyA few minutes’ walk away

Boston Massacre (1770)Historical event Boston Hears the Declaration (1776)Historical event America’s 250th — July 4, 2026Recurring event Crispus AttucksPerson First American Newspaper (1704)Historical event

More landmarksOther landmarks in the graph

Granary Burying GroundBuilding / Landmark Fenway ParkBuilding / Landmark Faneuil HallBuilding / Landmark Old South Meeting HouseBuilding / Landmark Old North ChurchBuilding / Landmark

From the Revolutionary eraOf the same period

Pierce–Hichborn HouseBuilding / Landmark Boston LightBuilding / Landmark Old Corner BookstoreBuilding / Landmark Benjamin FranklinPerson The Inoculation Experiment (1721)Historical event

Visitors also exploreReached through the same connections

Boston 400 — The Quadricentennial (2030)Recurring event Evacuation Day (1776)Historical event Operation Sail: The Tall Ships (1976)Historical event Samuel AdamsPerson Quincy MarketBuilding / Landmark

One record, 1 framing cross-property publishing — never duplicated

Boston400.com · you are here

How we know graph confidence — we explain our certainty, not just assert it

Verified byThe Civic Graph Editorial Desk

100

Verified

How this is scored →

✓Source qualityBest source is primary / institutional

✓Independent corroboration7 sources across 3 tiers

✓Human-reviewedEditorially verified

✓Institutional backingCites a primary or institutional source

✓Record completeness100% of canonical fields present

Sources, by tier

Revolutionary Spaces Unclassified

NPS Freedom Trail Primary / institutional

Wikidata Q1320533 Open reference

wikipedia Open reference

OpenStreetMap way/29608515 Open reference

Wikipedia page 1418090 (English) Open reference

U.S. National Park Service (NPS API) Primary / institutional

The same entity, elsewhere

WikidataQ1320533 OpenStreetMapway/29608515 Wikipedia1418090 Official sitehttp://www.bosto…

Graph scores — our north star is relationship density, not page count

Relationship density58

6 connections

Record coverage100

metadata completeness

Graph authority80

centrality + reach + trust

Schema.org JSON-LD — what answer engines read

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