Massachusetts State House
Part 2 of 4: The State House Interior by Bulfinch
The front entrance to the State House is known as the Bulfinch Entrance in honor of the original architect. It is a ceremonial entrance that is not accessible, but used only for special events. This part of the story will look at the visitor entrance locations and then the interior architecture and historical sculpture in the original building by the architect Charles Bulfinch. This includes the front ceremonial entrance into Doric Hall, the Executive Offices, and the Senate Chamber.
Basement Floor
The Visitor Entrance is located on the east side of the North Annex at the Ashburton Park entrance just beyond the Beacon Hill Monument. It is the Basement Floor located under the grand stair and balcony to the First Floor. After passing through security you can access the Grand Staircase and elevators to the upper floors. The main areas of interest are on the second and third floors.
The General Hooker Entrance on the south side West Wing behind his equestrian statue is sometimes used as the visitor entrance to the first floor if for any reason the Ashburton Entrance is closed.
First Floor
The First Floor of the original building includes staff offices throughout, Hearing Rooms in the center of the North Annex, and the State House Bookstore in the East Wing. Mount Vernon Street separates the North Annex from the original building and provides covered drop off entrances behind security gates, so you have to go up to the second floor to reach Doric Hall in the original Bulfinch building.
Second Floor
The Second Floor includes several grand halls in the North Annex with murals and sculpture depicting significant events in Massachusetts history. These will be visited in Part 3. In the original building on the second floor is Doric Hall where the front ceremonial entrance is located.
Doric Hall
The name of this hall was derived from the Doric columns in the hall that support the Senate Chamber and dome above. The room is used as a reception hall for special events, and has a number of displays on state history including a model of the original building construction. Today the front red brick facade and dome have been preserved with additions constructed to form the North Annex on the back side and the East and West Wings to each side.
In addition to the original building model there are several statues and busts in Doric Hall that tell a part of Massachusetts history.
George Washington, 1732 to 1799, was the first president of the United States and led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War with the British Empire. His bust is a replica cast in 1932 from an original sculpted by Jean Antonine Houdon.
Charles Bulfinch, 1763 to 1844 , was the architect for the Massachusetts State House built in 1798. His relief plaque was sculpted by Herbert Adams in 1899, based on a painting by Mather Brown in 1786.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809 to 1865, was the 16th President of the United States during the Civil War. He died by assassination soon after the war was over. His bust was cast in 1912 from a life mask by Leonard Volk, and is displayed with a plaque containing part of his Gettysburgh Address.
The memorial artisans were Washington sculpted by Jean Antoine, Bulfinch sculpted by Herbert Adams from a painting by Mather Brown, and Lincoln sculpted by Leonard Volk.
Jean Antoine Houdon, 1741 to 1828, was born in Versailles France and studied at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and the École Royale des Élèves Protégés. His sculptures of George Washington were made in about 1785 from live models and masks at Benjamin Franklin’s Mount Vernon estate.
Herbert Adams, 1858 to 1945, was born in West Concord, Vermont and grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston, and then taught art in the public schools. In 1885 he moved to Paris and studied sculpture under Antonin Mercié. He opened a studio in Paris and then New York completing many public and private works.
Mather Brown, 1761 to 1831, was born in Boston and at an early age became a student of Gilbert Stuart. In 1781 he moved to London to study in Benjamin West’s studio, and later entered the Royal Academy of Arts.
Leonard Volk, 1828 to 1895, was born in Wells, New York, and took on a marble cutting trade with his father. He opened a studio in St. Louis in 1848, and then moved to Rome in 1855 for additional studies, and then returned to Chicago. In 1867 he helped establish the Chicago Accademy of Design, and became noted for several large monumental sculptures depicting soldiers from the Civil War.
Two additional life size monuments set in niches are of John Andrews, and George Washington.
John Albion Andrew, 1818 to 1867, was governor of Massachusetts during the Civil War. Andrew was instrumental in organizing some of the first African American regiments during the war. His statue was sculpted by Thomas Ball in 1872.
George Washington, depicted here with a scroll in neoclassical dress, reflects his wisdom as a democratic representative of the people, as opposed to military dress. His statue was sculpted by Francis Chantrey in 1826.
The sculptors for Andrews and Washington were Thomas Ball and Francis Chantrey.
Thomas Ball, 1819 to 1911, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and studied under Abel Brown, a wood carver at the New England Museum in Boston, and later in Florence Italy. His statue of Andrew was modeled in Boston and carved in Florence. Ball became an accomplished sculptor, painter, and musician.
Francis Leggatt Chantrey, 1781 to 1841, was born on a family farm near Sheffield, England. He apprenticed with a wood carver called Ramsay in Sheffield, and studied painting with John Raphael Smith. In 1802 he opened his own studio in Sheffield. He later continued his studies at the Royal Academy Schools, developing a number of paintings and sculptures, and spent the remainder of his career focused primarily on sculpture, receiving a number of significant commissions and awards for his works.
The last memorial found in Doric Hall is that of John Hancock, and two historical religious sculptures titled, Creation, and David and Goliath.
John Hancock, 1737 to 1739, was a Boston merchant, a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, served as President of the Continental Congress, and as the first Governor of Massachusetts. His bust was cast in 1915 from an original sculpted by Horatio Stone in 1858. The Massachusetts State House is built on land owned by John Hancock. His house was near the West Wing and the State House is located in what use to be his cow pasture.
Creation, depicts hands molding a human form from clay, assumed to represent the biblical story of the hands of God molding the first humans. The sculpture was created by Kay Worden in 1963.
David and Goliath, depicts the biblical story of the young King David slaying Goliath, a Philistine giant. The sculpture is a replica of a life size original created by Antonin Mercié in 1872.
The sculptor for Hancock, Creation, and David and Goliath were Horatio Stone, Kay Worden, and Antonin Mercié.
Horatio Stone, 1808 to 1875, was born in Jackson, New York, and studied at the Columbian Academy of Painting under Archibald Robertson, and the American Academy of Fine Arts under John Trumbull. He then entered medical school to study human anatomy where he completed his medical training, but returned to sculpture after a few years in medical practice. In 1847 he opened a studio in New York City and then Washington DC in 1848. During the Civil War he returned to medical practice to assist with those wounded in the war. After the war he returned to sculpting and received several notable commissions from Congress.
Kay Worden, 1925 to 2015, was born in New York, and studied at the Potter School in Tucson and the Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Kay was an activist against the Vietnam War and took on many family, racial, and political issues throughout her career. She was also a sculptor and created several public works in the Boston and New England region.
Marius Jean Antonin Mercié, 1845 to 1916, studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Alexandre Falguière and François Jouffroy, where in later years he returned as a professor. He continued his studies in Rome through the Grand Prix de Rome.
Third Floor
The Third Floor includes the Governor’s Offices in the original building and the West Wing, the Senate Chamber in the center under the dome, the House of Representatives Chamber on the west side of the North Annex, and the Massachusetts State Library on the north end of the North Annex.
Executive Chamber
Governor’s Offices are located in the original 1798 building by Bulfinch and extend into the 1917 west wing by Sturgis.
Outside the Executive office area along the third floor corridors are several relief sculptures depicting prominent individuals and events in Massachusetts history.
Massachusetts Labor History, is a relief depicting a wide variety of Massachusetts workers. It was sculpted by Meredith Bergmann.
Louis D. Brandeis, 1856 to 1941, was a lawyer and a US Supreme Court Justice. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky and educated at Harvard University in Boston. His bust was sculpted by Eleanor Platt in 1942.
Chaplins’ Memorial: Is a World War I memorial honoring those Chaplins that served and died in the war. The relief was sculpted by Bashka Paeff in 1929.
The sculptors for Massachusetts Labor History, Brandeis, and the Chaplins’ Memorial were Meredith Bergmann, Eleanor Platt, and Basha Paeff.
Meredith Bergmann, is an active sculptor, and studied at Wesleyan University, Parsons School of Design, Cooper Union School of Art, the Art Students League, and apprenticed with Palla Marble Atelier in Pietrasanta, Italy.
Eleanor Platt, 1910 to 1974, was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and studied with Arthur Lee and Edward McCarten at the Art Students League of New York, and at the Continuation School in New York City. She became known for the many plaster and bronze portrait bust she produced of prominent politicians.
Bashka Paeff, 1889 to 1979, was born in Minsk, in the Russian Empire, and immigrated with her family to Boston. She studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design with Cyrus Edwin Dallin, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with Bella Pratt, and at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Paeff became noted for her many realistic animal sculptures, war memorials, fountains, and portrait busts.
Senate Chamber
The original layout by Bulfinch had the Senate Chamber located in the Senate Reception Room, and the House Chamber was located where the Senate Chamber is now.
Today both areas have been restored to the original 1890s appearance as best possible, with the Senate Chamber located in the former House Chamber. There are 40 senators with seating at desks forming a circle under the dome.
In the niches around the Senate Chamber are busts of prominent individuals in Massachusetts history.
George Washington, 1732 to 1799, was the first president of the United States. This version of Washington was sculpted by Christian Gullagher in 1799.
Marquis de Lafayette, 1757 to 1834, is best known as a Frenchman that fought against the British during the American Revolution. He persuaded the King of France to send 6,000 men to aid the Colonist in there fight. Joining the staff of George Washington, he then led the French expeditionary army as their general. His bust was sculpted by Horatio Greenough in 1833.
Charles Sumner, 1811 to 1874, was a US Senator in Massachusetts during the Civil War. He was aligned with President Lincoln and Governor Andrew on the issues with slavery. His bust was sculpted by Martin Milmore in 1865.
The sculptors for Washington, Lafayette, and Sumner were Christian Gullagher, Horatio Greenough, and Martin Milmore.
Christian Gullagher, 1759 to 1826, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He moved first to Boston in the 1780s and opened a drawing academy, and then did the same in New York City and Philadelphia. He is best known for his drawings and paintings, but did sculpt this bust of Washington before he died in 1799.
Horatio Greenough, 1805 to 1852, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Harvard University, and with Robert Weir in Rome. In 1827 he returned to the States and was successful in obtaining commissions, which he completed at his studio in Florence, Italy.
Martin Milmore, 1844 to 1883, was born in Sligo, Ireland and immigrated to Boston with his family in 1851. He studied at the Boston Latin School, the Lowell Institute, and learned to carve wood and stone from his older brother Joseph who also became a sculptor. He apprenticed with Thomas Ball and then set up a studio in the Studio Building in Boston completing many significant works in the area.
There are three additional busts in the Chamber, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and another bust believed to be that of Charles Sumner.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809 to 1865, was the 16th President of the United States. His bust was sculpted by Sarah Fisher Ames in 1867. An original of this bust is in the US Capitol.
Benjamin Franklin, 1706 to 1790, was born in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and considered an intellect and Founding Father of the United States. He wrote a draft and signed the Declaration of Independence, and served in many positions including as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. His bust was sculpted by Horatio Greenough in 1840.
The sixth bust in the Senate Chamber is not identified, but could possibly be another bust of Charles Sumner. Records indicate that there are multiple busts of Sumner in the State House.
The sculptors for Lincoln and Franklin were Sarah Ames and Horatio Greenough.
Sarah Fisher Ames, 1817 to 1901, was born in Lewes, Delaware, and studied art in Boston and Rome, and became successful in producing sculptures of notable Americans. Ames worked as a volunteer nurse, and then director at the hospital in the US Capitol during the Civil War. She became a good friend of Lincoln, and modeled his bust from life.
Horatio Greenough is credited with this bust of Benjamin Franklin, and the bust of Marquis de Lafayette above.
Fourth Floor
The Fourth Floor includes more offices with access to the Senate Gallery in the original building and access to the House Gallery in the North Annex.
In addition to the galleries there are a number of legislative offices with beautiful entrances, this one depicting the Mayflower in the stained glass panels.
Fifth Floor and Sub Basement
There is a fifth floor containing support offices, and a sub basement with building utility and support systems.
Commentary
If you missed it, Part 1 looked at the exterior architecture and sculpture on the grounds, and now continues in Part 3 with a tour of the interior architecture, sculpture, and murals of the North Annex by Charles Brigham, and finally Part 4 with a tour of the Old State House a few blocks to the east, built in 1713.
Travel Notes
On my second visit to the State House in 2022 I toured the interior and picked up most of the images for this story and the next. In addition to the parking garage under the Boston Common, you can take the T, which is what their subway system is commonly called, T for rapid Transit. The official name is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA.
This is the south entrance to the Park Street station for the Red and Green lines. It comes up in the Boston Common park next to the Visitor Center and starting point of the Freedom Trail. From here the State House is across the Common on the north side.
Notes and References:
Story and photographs by David Smitherman with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, Google Lens, and Google Maps. Site visits were made in March 2021, May 2022, and November 2024.