Boston National Historical Park | MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE: GRAND STAIRCASE

Stained glass windows near the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

Stained glass windows near the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE TOUR STOP 5
GRAND STAIRCASE

After visiting the Great Hall, return to the Grand Staircase and proceed to the third floor of the Massachusetts State House where the state government chambers are located. At the top of a mid-flight landing are three stained glass windows. The center window depicts some of the colonial-era seals of Massachusetts, while the side windows show the family seals of the colony’s Royal Governors.

The center stained glass window at the landing on the Massachusetts State House's Grand Staircase depicts various seals of Massachusetts

The center stained glass window at the landing on the Massachusetts State House’s Grand Staircase depicts various seals of Massachusetts

In the hall at the top of the Grand Staircase is a mural of the 104th U. S. Infantry Regiment—a unit of Massachusetts soldiers—being decorated for valor by France at the end of World War I, and a statue of former Massachusetts governor Roger Wolcott. In the 1880s, with the original State House building (today’s Old State House) now too small for the state government, there was a push to move the capital of Massachusetts to another city. It was Wolcott, then a state representative, who fought to keep the capital in Boston and spearheaded the drive to build a new state house.

104th U. S. Infantry mural in the hall at the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

104th U. S. Infantry mural in the hall at the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

Statue of Roger Wolcott in the hall at the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

Statue of Roger Wolcott in the hall at the top of the Grand Staircase in the Massachusetts State House

View of the second floor of the Massachusetts State House from the Grand Staircase

View of the second floor of the Massachusetts State House from the Grand Staircase


Stop 6: House of Representatives | Stop 4: Great Hall | State House Main Page

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Last updated on January 30, 2024
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