Old State House - balcony readings and public proclamations

The Old State House, completed in 1713, served as the seat of colonial and later state government and was the site from which the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in Boston on July 18, 1776. The area in front of the building is also the location associated with the March 5, 1770 Boston Massacre, events that drew public gatherings and official proclamations. The building today is a history museum interpreting its role in civic and political rituals of colonial and revolutionary Boston.