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State Library of Massachusetts

1826 establishments in MassachusettsBeacon Hill, BostonGovernment agencies established in 1826Government of MassachusettsLibraries in Beacon Hill, Boston
State libraries of the United States
Massachusetts State Library
Massachusetts State Library

The State Library of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts was established in 1826 and "supports the research and information needs of government, libraries, and people through ... services and access to a comprehensive repository of state documents and other historical items." It "opened in 1826 and has been in its present location in the State House since the 1890s." The State Library falls under the administration of the governor.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article State Library of Massachusetts (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

State Library of Massachusetts
Beacon Street, Boston Beacon Hill

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.35807 ° E -71.06365 °
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Address

Massachusetts State House

Beacon Street 24
02108 Boston, Beacon Hill
Massachusetts, United States
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Phone number
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

call+16177273676

Website
mass.gov

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Massachusetts State Library
Massachusetts State Library
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Nearby Places

Sacred Cod
Sacred Cod

The Sacred Cod is a four-foot-eleven-inch (150 cm) carved-wood effigy of an Atlantic codfish, "painted to the life", hanging in the House of Representatives chamber of Boston's Massachusetts State House‍—‌"a memorial of the importance of the Cod-Fishery to the welfare of this Commonwealth" (i.e. Massachusetts, of which cod is officially the "historic and continuing symbol"). The Sacred Cod has gone through as many as three incarnations over three centuries: the first (if it really existed‍—‌the authoritative source calling it a "prehistoric creature of tradition") was lost in a 1747 fire; the second disappeared during the American Revolution; and the third, installed in 1784, is still exhibited in the House chamber. "Sacred Cod" is not a formal name but a nickname which appeared in 1895, soon after the carving was termed "the sacred emblem" by a House committee appointed "to investigate the significance of the emblem [which] has kept its place under all administrations, and has looked upon outgoing and incoming legislative assemblies, for more than one hundred years".[C]: 3-4,12  Soon sacred cod was being used in reference to actual codfish as well, in recognition of the creature's role in building Massachusetts' prosperity and influence since early colonial times. In 1933 the Sacred Cod was briefly "Cod-napped" by editors of the Harvard Lampoon, prompting police to drag the Charles River and search an airplane landing in New Jersey. In 1968 it was taken briefly again, this time by students at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A fish figure is displayed in the State House Senate chamber as well‍—‌a brass casting (sometimes called the Holy Mackerel) above its central chandelier.