State House Senate Chamber, Boston (Beacon Hill)

Rehabilitation & Restoration

The Massachusetts State House was designed by Charles Bulfinch and was built in 1795. Bulfinch also designed the Senate Chamber within the State House, which originally served as the hall of the House of Representatives. Three major campaigns in the 19th century made various changes to this space, and following the final renovation, which was completed in 1898, the room became the meeting place of the State Senate.

The desire to reverse later modifications made to the Chamber over the course of the 20th century, as well as the need to install modern updates, led to the award-winning project to restore the space to its 1898 appearance. The restoration campaign included the complete dismantling, cleaning, and reinstallation of the 1,500 wood elements making up the rusticated panels in the lower chamber that date to 1868 renovations designed by architect William Washburn. A number of panels, however, were retained as they were to preserve the full record of paint layers reflecting the Chamber's changing color schemes over time for future conservators and historians. In addition, decorative features such as the Chamber's large golden eagle statue were restored, as was the room's plaster and woodwork, with original materials retained wherever possible.

Specialists analyzed historic finishes and construction materials to help inform the restoration. The sensitive installation of modern material included: the placement of thin, sound-absorbing panels between the recesses of the dome ribs to significantly improve the room's acoustics; the introduction of an air-intake system in some of the 19th-century "snowflake" grills in the ceiling; the substitution of LED lights in the restored grand chandelier; and the insertion of diffused LED light panels in areas where the original skylights had been covered over in previous renovations. In addition to these careful modern upgrades to the existing historic fabric, a number of accessibility improvements were made to the public galleries, to the restrooms (which were also made gender neutral), and to the President's Rostrum. Other upgrades included new electrical, sprinkler, and HVAC systems.

The Senate chose to install a quotation by Frederick Douglass in a prominent location, to serve as inspiration to all: "Truth, Justice, Liberty, and Humanity will ultimately prevail."

The completed project has brought the Senate Chamber into the 21st century while masterfully preserving and restoring its fine historic features. The result is a public space for the Massachusetts Senate that ensures its use by the Commonwealth and its citizens for decades to come.