The Old South Meeting House is located at 310 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts. From its roots as a Puritan meeting house, to the pre-American Revolution protest meetings, to the museum and lecture site that it is today, this National Historic Landmark has been an important meeting place for almost 300 years.
In 1729, the Old South Meeting House was built by the Old South congregation, descendants of the Puritans who had left England to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This spacious (it was the biggest building in Colonial Boston) brick building was their new meeting place, since their first, smaller wooden building had led to problems with overcrowding. The size of the new building also lent itself well as the location for meetings that were too big for Faneuil Hall (the town hall of Boston). In 1770, the town installed a large clock in the Steeple of the Old South Meeting House, where it still is to this day.
In the pre-American Revolution years, colonists who were angry about the policies and taxes that the British set upon them met at the Old South Meeting house. On December 16, 1773, debate took place at the Old South Meeting House regarding the tea tax. Over 5,000 men were in attendance, and when no compromise could be reached, Samuel Adams gave the sign that began the Boston Tea Party.
Its reputation as a meeting place for patriots resulted in serious consequences for the Old South Meeting House during the Revolutionary War. The interior of the building was gutted by British Redcoats. They tore down the galleries, the pews, and the pulpit, and burned them as fuel. Loads of gravel and dirt numbering in the hundreds were put on the floor, and a practice bar was built for the men to jump their horses over. The east galleries of the building became a place for officers to drink and watch the horsemanship going on below them. After the British left, it took the Old South congregation almost eight years to raise money and restore the interior of the building.
After it had been restored, the Old South Meeting House continued on as a church until 1872. A new church was built by the congregation in Copley Square, which was also new. The Old South Meeting House was auctioned off for just $1,350, which was how much its materials were worth. The lot on which the building stood was then available for lease, or for sale. A group , referred to as "twenty women of Boston," raised funds to protect the building from demolition. They recruited such famous people as Louisa May Alcott and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to get people to pledge. Speeches made by Wendell Phillips also helped in getting pledges. Over $400,000 dollars was raised, and the building was saved as a museum. The Old South Association opened the building to the public in 1877.
In the early 1900s, the Old South Forum was launched, which was a program of discussions for the public. For over twenty years, various issues were openly debated. In the 1920s, there was a national disagreement over rights for free speech, which locally prompted the question as to how far the programs would go at the Old South Meeting House. The Board of Managers were split regarding this topic, some preferring meetings centering on education, charity, or religion, while others wanted a policy of anti-censorship and free speech. In 1929, the issue reached its zenith when several members would not hold a meeting regarding the banning of the play Strange Interlude by Eugene O'Neill. A meeting was called to finally decide the free speech policy at the Old South Meeting House. The Old South Association, after a considerable amount of thought, voted to open the Old South Meeting House to public discussion and speakers regardless of any cause's unpopularity, which has been the stance at the Old South Meeting House ever since.
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