The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333 (more than five times the budget), and has repeatedly been enlarged since.

The land in question was once pasture owned by John Hancock and the easement would allow for the addition of au pair units.

[11] Through legislation passed by the legislature the land surrounding the state house is considered "open space".

During World War II, the dome was painted gray once again, to prevent reflection during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks.

[14] The dome is topped with a gilded, wooden pine cone, symbolizing both the importance of Boston's lumber industry during early colonial times and of the state of Maine, which was a district of the Commonwealth when the Bulfinch section of the building was completed.

Other statues in front of the building include Daniel Webster, educator Horace Mann, and former US President John F. Kennedy.

The statues of Anne Hutchinson and Mary Dyer are located on the lawns below the east and west wings.

The original red-brick Bulfinch building contains the Governor's offices (on the west end) with the Massachusetts Senate occupying the former House of Representatives Chamber under the dome.

The models were again primarily friends and family members, with sister Norma sitting beside their mother Sarah Brodney.

[21] The Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule is a metal box located in a cornerstone of the State House, placed there in the late 18th century and rediscovered in 2014.

One corridor of the building's fourth floor is a sort of Newspaper Row, anchored by the large Press Gallery suite where reporters from a range of publications maintain desks.

[32][33] One of Boston's most enduring nicknames, "The Hub of the Universe",[34] stems from a remark by Oliver Wendell Holmes from his 1858 book The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table in which he mentions the State House:[35] "A jaunty-looking person ... said there was one more wise man's saying that he had heard; it was about our place—but he didn't know who said it.