Old South Meeting House

Old South Meeting House is a National Historic Landmark and Freedom Trail site at the corner of Washington and Milk Streets, where colonists gathered to challenge British rule. Built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house, it was the largest building in colonial Boston. On December 16, 1773, an overflow crowd met here to protest the tea tax before heading to Griffin’s Wharf for what became the Boston Tea Party.

Today the building operates as a museum and a space for free speech and public debate, with exhibits that include a vial of tea from the Tea Party and a 3-D model of colonial Boston. In 1876 Bostonians saved it from demolition in the first successful historic preservation effort in New England. It is run by Revolutionary Spaces, the nonprofit that also stewards the Old State House two blocks away.

What to Know

• Its tower clock, made by Gawen Brown and installed in 1770, is the oldest American-made tower clock still running in its original location.
• After the 1770 Boston Massacre, a meeting here demanded the removal of British troops from town.
• The building hosts public programs, school field trips and private events.
• It is part of Boston National Historical Park.
• A 3-D online tour shows areas closed to the public.