Massachusetts State House

The Massachusetts State House sits at the top of Beacon Hill with a gold dome that has been the most recognisable landmark in Boston since Charles Bulfinch designed it in 1798. The dome — originally wooden shingles, then copper (installed by Paul Revere's company in 1802), then gilded in 23-karat gold leaf in 1874 — catches the light from every direction and is visible from miles across the city. Oliver Wendell Holmes called the State House the 'Hub of the Solar System,' and Bostonians have taken the phrase to heart ever since.

Bulfinch's design established the template for state capitols across America — the columned portico, the central dome, the neoclassical proportions that say 'government building' in a language every American instinctively reads. The interior is equally impressive: the Senate Chamber, the House Chamber, and the Hall of Flags (which holds the original battle flags carried by Massachusetts regiments from the Civil War to Vietnam) are all open to guided tours that run throughout the day.

The building sits on land that was once John Hancock's cow pasture — the governor who signed the Declaration of Independence with the largest signature lived next door, and his heirs sold the property to the state. The front lawn faces Boston Common, and the view from the steps — across the Common to the Public Garden and Back Bay beyond — is the classic Boston prospect. During the only time the dome was painted black (during WWII, to prevent it reflecting moonlight and guiding enemy aircraft), Bostonians reportedly found the city unrecognisable.