Boston's Old City Hall
At the corner of Washington and State Street is Massachusetts Old State House building.
History of the Building
The building played an important part of the history of the United States. The Boston Massacre happened in front of the building on March 5, 1770. The Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in Boston to a crowd on July 18th, 1776. After the Revolution, the building was the location of the Massachusetts State government.
It served as Boston City Hall (1830 - 1841) and as a commercial building (1841-1881).
Since 1881 the building has been a museum run by the Bostonian Society.
The Queen of England gave a speech on the famous balcony on July 4, 1976.
Will Kids enjoy the Museum?
Youth (6-18) are free, so there's nothing to lose by taking them to the Old State House.
There are a couple of rooms on the second floor where my five-year daughter had some fun in.
In the "State Room" there are some puzzles to put together. Kids can try to rebuild the Old City Hall with a tall puzzle, build a wall using soft bricks and try to piece together an old photo.
In the "Old State House: A Hands-on History" room kids can draw a small picture and then hang it on the wall. There are story books to read all about Boston history at a kids size table. Kids can re-create the process of having to fix the clock.
Average time in the museum is about 45 minutes, it depends on how much you're into Boston history and if you take the tour.
Souvenir Shop
The souvenir shop has lots of goodies for kids. There are lots of colonial period items such as a feather pen and scrolls. On this trip, we picked up a large pencil since it's similar to the one she uses at school.
You do not have to go to the museum to visit the gift shop, so if your walking by the Old State House it's worth just stopping by for some unique Boston Souvenirs. Your purchase supports the museum, so it's for a good cause. (There's a good selection of Boston coffee mugs if you're looking something for the office.)
Bathroom
Parents with kids are always concern about bathrooms...
In the basement is a bathroom that was reasonably clean, you do have to purchase museum tickets to use the bathroom. It's a good pit stop if you're heading towards downtown crossing or the commons since good bathrooms are hard to find.
Personal Experience
My five-year-old daughter had a fun time learning about history at the museum. She enjoyed learning about how colonial chairs were made, sitting at the head of the table, looking at the old clothes and seeing history up close. She had a fun time with the puzzles and was excited to put up a drawing on the board with her name.