Review: Virtual Tour of the Massachusetts State House
For all my gallivanting across Massachusetts, I have never toured the Massachusetts State House! Fortunately, the government website provides a virtual tour of these space, allowing me to see panoramic images on the interior from the comfort of my home. This tour highlights nine areas in the statehouse with unique artwork and furniture.
1st Floor
The 1st Floor of the State House has no artifacts and lists only a few points of interest: house clerk, house council, hearing rooms, house minority, and state bookstore. I wish some explanation had been offered on why this section was left blank, or that details were giving for what business happened in each of the points of interest.
2nd Floor
The 2nd listed the state auditor, state treasurer, senate counsel, and another hearing room as points of interests in addition to listing several featured areas. Each featured area was represented by a colorful circle on the map of the floor and also in a list underneath the “Featured Areas” header. The items appeared on the list in no particular order, which I found somewhat confusing. Clicking on the map circle or the list item opened a dialog box that included a photograph or panorama of what visitors would see from that spot. Clicking on highlight points within the image offered a zoomed-in detail of image along with text description. The double scroll, one for each dialog box, required to read the text made navigating this section unnecessarily difficult.
I started off in Doric Hall, named for its neoclassical design. A marble statue of George Washington as Scipio, similar to a wooden statue I saw at Beauport, stands on the end of the hall. Sir Francis Chantrey created this monument in 1826 using a Gilbert Stuart full-length portrait as a reference, much like modern sculptors using photographs. To the right of George is a marble statue of John Albion Andrew, an abolitionist who worked with Senators Charles Sumner and John Quincy Adams along with organizing the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment for Black soldiers during the Civil War. A plaque between George and John commemorates capitol designer Charles Bulfinch, only twenty-four years old when submitting his design in 1787 and thirty-two at the time of construction in 1795. Bulfinch also designed Historic New England’s Otis House and a myriad of other Federal style buildings. A different plaque commemorated John Hancock, while a full-length oil portrait of Abraham Lincoln was commissioned for the 100th birthday of the president.
To the right of Doric Hall was “Hear Us Portrait Gallery”, a series of six plaques representing notable Massachusetts women: architect and political activist Florence Luscomb, labor organizer Mary Kenney O’Sullivan, human rights activist Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, anti-slavery society lecturer Dr. Sarah Parker Remond, abolitionist and suffragist Lucy Stone, and mental healthcare advocate Dorothea Lynde Dix.
Straight ahead of Doric Hall is Nurses Hall, so called for the Civil War Army Nurses Memorial by Connecticut sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt. The text accompanying the photograph of the monument states that the two figures of the bronze bust are in the form of a pietà. I happen to have an unusually strong opinion on what constitutes a pietà. Traditionally, the Virgin Mary holding the crucified body of Jesus across her lap with his head hanging down on the right side of Mary, and only that position is a pietà. In the case of this sculpture, the soldier lays on the ground with his head on the left knee of the nurse, therefore not a pietà. The text compares this sculpture to another not-a-pietà sculpture honoring a nurse, the Mother Bickerdyke Memorial by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson in 1906, who is better known for the variations on Spanish American War Memorial The Hiker. Another work by Pratt appearing in the hall was a bronze relief sculpture of a New England Guards member killed in the Civil War. On the next pillar over is a similar sculpture by William Couper depicting naval officer John Winslow. High above near the ceiling are a series of three oil paintings by Robert Reid showing romanticised events from the American Revolutionary War period.
Memorial Hall featured the stained glass rotunda created by Edwin Ford and Frederick Brooks in 1899. Nearer the floor, flags in glass cases around the perimeter represent the Revolutionary War and Civil War. On the balcony above are oil paintings depicting romanticized events in Massachusetts history, including John Eliot Preaching to the Indians (Native Americans living at Nonantum) and The Pilgrims on the Mayflower both by Henry Oliver Walker, and Battle at Concord Bridge and The Return of the Colors to the Custody of the Commonwealth (depicting the end of the Civil War) both by Edward E. Simmons.
Tucked in a corner to the left of the Grand Staircase is a small Italian Renaissance style memorial to former governor of Massachusetts Curtis Guild, Jr. On the first landing of the staircase is a glass window depicting early seals and mottos of massachusetts, from the first charter in 1629 to the State Constitution seal that was put aside for the current design in 1898.
The Great Hall features many, many flags hung from blond brick walls. Suspended from the ceiling at the center of the hall is an avant-garde clock created by New York sculptor Ronald Fischer in 1990 as part of a now-defunct 1% for Art program.
3rd Floor
Points of interest on this floor include the office of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Senate Clerk; rooms for the House Majority, Senate Majority, and Senate Minority; and the State Library. A coding error in the “Featured Areas” section made the words in the list overlap each other on the second line of text, making the list difficult to read. Otherwise, this floor map was easy to navigate.
The House Chamber floor is covered with a rich blue and gold carpet, while the walls are carved wood paneling. The blueish-green curtains clash with the carpet. On the back wall of the Chamber behind the seat of the speaker is engraved with gold leaf the “City Upon a Hill“ Address given by John F. Kennedy in 1961. The text informs visitors that the black slate on the wall was also used at JFK’s gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. Overhead is another installation in the favorite art style of the State House: a series of five oil paintings depicting romanticized historical events, this time painted by Albert Herter. These include the arrest of a governor over a revolt in 1689, drafting the Massachusetts State Constitution in 1780, Hancock proposing a Bill of Rights to the Federal Constitution in 1788, public repentance of Judge Sewall for his participation in the witchcraft trials in 1697, and Governor Winthrop bringing the Bay Colony Charter to Massachusetts in 1630. On the opposite side of the chamber is a pine codfish created in 1784 to replace an older pine codfish lost during the Revolutionary War.
The Office of the Speaker of the House is filled with black and white portraits of Speakers, including Leverett Saltonstall, Speaker from 1929 to 1937; Tip O’Neill, Speaker from 1949 to 1987; and Caleb Davis, the first speaker in 1780. Also in the room is an ornate mahogany fireplace with brass fittings.
The round Senate Chamber has alcoves in the wall for busts commemorating the Marquis de Lafayette, Charles Sumner, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, among others. A gilt wood Seal of the Commonwealth hangs in the front, while a pair of militia musket from the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary war hang in the back. Whether this is a trick of lighting or an unusual design choice, it appears that three shades of blue and two shades of cream were used to paint the walls.
The Senate Reading Room was my favorite part of the virtual tour, as it included a full length oil portrait of my favorite president, Calvin Coolidge, painted by Edmund Charles Tarbell. Other less exciting artifacts included an infantry flag gifted to Calvin Coolidge while he was governor, an old mahogany chair with siblings at Historic New England and Winterthur (of course...), and oil portrait of politicians Robert Travaglini, Kevin Harrington, and William Bulger. The interior decorating of this room is just as distracting as the Senate Chamber with a geometric orange, white, and blue carpet, and Neoclassical wall carvings painted yellow and blue.
The Office of the Senate President looks like a nice place to take a nap if you are a powerful state leader. The pair of pink couches with matching pillows look somewhat comfortable, and a curtain across the window could block natural light. A cozy fire might be lit in the carved mahogany fireplace with marble and brass fittings, which matches the coffee table. Unfortunately, the carpet, wallpaper, and ceiling paper are busy green and gold floral patterns. Portraits hung around the room include Samuel Adams of political and alcohol fame; Revolutionary War era politician Thomas Cushing; and a photograph of my favorite Massachusetts Senator, a young Calvin Coolidge. Other treasures in this room included an out of place Cantonese vase and a set of Davenport brand mahogany chairs from around 1898.
Conclusion
For those who love Massachusetts history or want to visit every state house, this is a great way to take the tour before booking your in-person tour. The virtual tour had a few quirks in the design that made navigation slightly difficult, but overall, the experience was straightforward and accessible. I would love to see a video or audio component included in future versions of the tour. I look forward to taking an in-person tour of the Massachusetts State House in the future.