The Old South Meeting House is a historic church building and museum located in Boston, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1729 by builder Joshua Blanchard and designer Robert Twelves, the Georgian-style brick structure originally served the Congregational congregation of the Old South Church. Beyond its religious functions, it became a vital civic space, hosting overflow town meetings that were too large for Faneuil Hall. Most notably, the building served as the organizing point for the historic Boston Tea Party in 1773, cementing its legacy as a symbol of free speech and pre-Revolutionary activism.
During the American Revolutionary War, British troops occupied and gutted the building's interior, converting it into a horse-riding facility. It was rebuilt in 1783 and continued to host its congregation until the Great Boston Fire of 1872. Following the congregation's relocation, the building was saved from being sold for scrap in 1876 through one of the region's earliest successful historic preservation efforts. Since 1877, the building has operated as a museum, currently managed by Revolutionary Spaces, and remains a key landmark on Boston's Freedom Trail.
