Public art, shows, collections and stories that delight every time you visit.
Enter Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House – the two most iconic sites on the Freedom Trail. We view history as a powerful tool to understand our present and build work toward a more just and equitable future.
Exhibits
- Reflecting Attucks
A virtual exhibit that examines the memory of Crispus Attucks, a man of African & Native descent who was the first to die in the Boston Massacre.Read more → - Unfinished Business Film Series
A film series exploring the legacy of protest, representation, and revolution embodied in our historical sites.Read more → - Hands on History
For young visitors and the young at heart, there’s no better way to understand history than to reach out and touch it at the Old State House.Read more → - Colony to Commonwealth
Your first stop in Boston! See how Massachusetts and its residents played a pivotal role in the birth of America.Read more → - The Main Hall at Old South
The largest meeting space colonial Boston, this room was host to thousands of people leading to the Boston Tea Party, and has been a steadfast haven for free speech for almost three centuries.Read more → - Voices of Protest
Discover compelling people who made a difference at Old South Meeting House and the history of protest and free speech that continues to this day.Read more → - Council Chamber
Once an exclusive space for the most powerful men in Massachusetts, now all are invited to connect to our nation’s history in this meticulously-restored 18th-century room.Read more → - The Queen’s Visit
Explore mementos and artifacts that commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s historic reign and visit to the Old State House in 1976.Read more →
Tours
- Massacre and Memory Tour
A half-mile guided walking tour that explores the surprisingly small geography of colonial Boston to uncover the roots of the Boston Massacre and includes entry to the Old State House and Old South Meeting House.Read more → - Boston Reconsidered Tour
See how events in our backyard have shaped the entire nation. Trace the ideals of the Revolution through Independence, abolition, struggles for civil rights, and into the present day.Read more →
Upcoming Events
- Massacre and Memory TourA half-mile guided walking tour that explores the surprisingly small geography of colonial Boston to uncover the roots of the Boston Massacre and includes entry to the Old State House and Old South Meeting House.Read more →
- Boston Reconsidered TourSee how events in our backyard have shaped the entire nation. Trace the ideals of the Revolution through Independence, abolition, struggles for civil rights, and into the present day.Read more →
- Getting Engaged: Inspiring Civic Bystanders to Action
SEP 29: Exploring the ins and outs of voting among young people in America today, this special program aims to inquire and inspire!Read more → - Representation and How to Get It
SEP 28-30: The new one-woman play about Julia Ward Howe performed at Old South Meeting House, featuring unique programs after every performance.Read more → - Material Memory: Warren Powderhorn
OCT 4: Witness a recently uncovered artifact from the home of Joseph Warren and learn about its legacy.Read more → - The Queen’s VisitExplore mementos and artifacts that commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s historic reign and visit to the Old State House in 1976.Read more →
Online Exhibits
- Reflecting AttucksA virtual exhibit that examines the memory of Crispus Attucks, a man of African & Native descent who was the first to die in the Boston Massacre.Read more →
- Imagining the Age of Phillis
A short film series directed by John Oluwole ADEkoje that brings a selection of the poems from Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s book to life.Read more → - Unfinished Business Film SeriesA film series exploring the legacy of protest, representation, and revolution embodied in our historical sites.Read more →
- Heard
“Heard” explores questions of colonial government, community, and prejudice through the lens of the colonial to the contemporary deaf community.Read more → - Essential Questions Discussion Series
In-person and virtual discussions that confront key issues that sit at the heart of the American experiment in self-government.Read more →
Past Events
- We Were Always Here
Join two esteemed professors to uncover the legacies of LGBTQ+ Colonial Americans and learn what life was like for those lived outside the gender and sexual norms of early America.Read more → - Cry Havoc! Legislative Violence in America
VIDEO: Explore an iconic artifact from the Revolutionary Spaces’ collection and the legacy of what this American relic symbolizes: violence perpetrated in the hallowed halls of Congress.Read more → - Unfinished Business Film SeriesA film series exploring the legacy of protest, representation, and revolution embodied in our historical sites.Read more →
- Joseph Warren, Medicine, and Activism
VIDEO: Explore the intersection of activism and medicine in this timely virtual panel discussion with scholars and doctors.Read more → - Violence, Revolution, and Memory
VIDEO | In commemoration of the Boston Massacre, this panel explores political violence, revolution, and memory in a global context.Read more → - Protest and Commemoration at the 1973 Boston Tea Party Anniversary
Who inherits a legacy of protest and revolution? Can we look back at a moment frozen in time and still march forward in the spirit of change?Read more → - Legacy of the Loyalists
A panel discussion on the legacy of Loyalists. How does the cultural memory of those early Americans left in the shadows transform over time?Read more → - Preserving All Under Heaven: The Gentrification of Chinatown
VIDEO | How can we preserve and empower the voice of the community, its history and its heart, in the face of encroaching development, displacement, and decline of housing?Read more → - Tea Party Tonight!
DEC 17: Our history-themed comedy talk show returns for our fifth episode!Read more →
Education Programs
- Revolution is Brewing: Immersive Roleplaying Game
A 90-minute immersive experience for students grade 8 and up developed in partnership with the award-winning education game designers Gigantic Mechanic.Read more → - Education Tours
Visit the Old State House and Old South Meeting House with a friendly and knowledgeable guide, or explore at your own pace.Read more →