Reviews of Connecticut's Old State House. (Museum) in Hartford (Connecticut).

Connecticut's Old State House

287 Reviews

136 Comments

Museum

Historical place museum

800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, United States

Description

Information of Connecticut's Old State House, Museum in Hartford (Connecticut)

Discover the opening times, the location, contact, popular times, photos and real reviews by internet users.

This place has a very good rate, they treat their customers well and you’ll feel welcome, super recommended

Map

Open hours of Connecticut's Old State House

Popular times

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Reviews of Connecticut's Old State House

Margaret Honan

3.26.22 Our 1st visit here and I can't believe we didn't come sooner. My library offered 4 free guests passes and weekend street parking is Free. Other libraries offer 2 adults and 2 kids passes so check yours online. The guided tour lasts about 40 min but after you can walk around on your own too. Great place foe photos and much history if that interests you. This is definitely an adult or family friendly venue.

Yulia Berry

Loved it! Beautiful building with such interesting history! Thankfully, it was saved and preserved for the future generations! The portrait of Washington is original and was painted by the great artist Gilbert Stuart. Very interesting that the portrait has never been moved from its original place, which is a very unique situation in history. I also love the kid governor office. Apparently, only 3 states do this program for kids, who get a chance to run for a position of the kid governor and other important positions similar to the state house. They have a room in the Old State House that has a kid governor desk, a table for meeting, a speech tribune, etc. It was very cool! I wish Massachusetts did it, too. Highly recommend to visit it!

Mr. Lee

Free concerts every Thursday this summer has been a blast! Good music and good vibes. Very well kept location great for picnics or lounging in the grass with friends and family.

Joseph Michael Carilli

Entering a zone of history was exciting. But first a presentation about Pennington, a African American minister. At one point he was a slave, and he moved North to escape slavery of the South, and to preside over a church in Hartford. His story is amazing and it was educational. The Old State House offers a glance into the past, with some original chairs, and tables from when the actual Senate and House gathered there. It also is important to note, at the beginning of Connecticut's history, the capital was divided between Hartford and New Haven. This factoid I did not know. The staff had a wealth of information share with our class, Capital Community College, Financial Accounting class. They were able to answer any and all questions we had. Then we went into the most bizarre but exciting room. In this tiny corner of the Old State House, there are winged creatures, fish, and two-headed calf. This is just a scratch the surface, for there were many other animals of all types. I strongly recommend this as an educational visit for young and old alike.

Bill Oas

This is a great stop if you have an hour to spare. $8 admission is well worth it. Staff are super friendly and helpful. 2nd floor senate and house floors are cool to see but the hall of oddities is where the place stands out. Taxidermy, bones, 2 headed calf and pig and so much more. This is a shockingly awesome thing to have in an old state house. Main floor features primarily the voting room and the court hall. Unfortunately barely a mention of the witch trails with zero mention of the hangings. Courthouse is mainly set with story boards about Amistad. In the basement they are renovating but Most is open and includes additional local historical facts and artifacts. Very much enjoyed seeing everything and learned more than I expected. Go check it out!

Christa Galitello

I've walked by The Old State House hundreds of times, but never thought to go in. When I finally did, the staff was so friendly and willing to give any information when asked. And they offered guided tours as well. If you're a AAA member it's only $3 to get in. I spent about an hour here, about 15 minutes on each of the top floors and the rest on the bottom, which has a small museum set up about the History of Connecticut. If you have a little time to spend, I recommend stopping in and giving them your support. And you can see a gorgeous painting of George Washington, one of the only originally located portraits by Gilbert Stewart in the country.

dawn greenfield

The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable. I was amazed at all the history in our state capital I learned in one visit. Every room I was impressed by. It was easy to navigate a wheelchair throughout the building and the bathroom was very clean. See us here with miss liberty.

Vincent Nocito

A good tour of the old state house. Interesting history facts. The room of curiosities was a surprise. The basement had exhibits about Connecticut industry and history.

Rose E

What a gem of a place in Hartford! This was the location of the Amistad Trial. Highly recommend a tour (my tour guide was Ms. Heidi)--there's amazing history in this place!

Russell Davis

The secret is out or is it well let me tell you what I'm talking about Fridays at the old state house in front has music and guess what? fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm. the Farmers market at the old say house on Fridays and boy I don't miss it. grapes with seeds in them watermelon with seeds in them fresh peaches plums apples and so much more onion,l cabbage, peppers OMG that's the spot the secret is out the Old State House on Fridays. I'll see you there.

Paul Federico

Great event with Dinosaur Jr. last night. Brought Hartford back to life for one night.

Carmel Mitchell

We did the self guided tour. We enjoyed all of the floors! The young ladies were very knowledgeable and welcomed any questions we had.

Dibyendu Roy Chowdhury

OK kind of museum, rather small is size and collection. The guide tried her best to make the tour interesting and informative.

Jason Broughton

Amazing building. Historical information and unique items. There is information on on the 1839 slave ship La Amistad

Zack Hintz

Pretty neat little area! They held concerts in the park there this summer, and it was a very fun spot to listen to some tunes and decompress from the long week!

David Smith

The tour was amazing. Our tour guide took the time to tell us every detail about the building !

Alice E. Ridgway

Wonderful place for a special meeting or a celebration, worth a tour and great for kids.

Molly Black

I would definitely recommend going inside, especially the museum of curiosities! There was so much cool stuff including a narwhal horn!

sabina heinemann

Free Twiddle show was amazing!!!

Luke Greika

Went to the free concert. Belas Bartok and West End Blend. Absolutely incredible. This is what Hartford needs more of. Great music and a great crowd.

Jim Bednarz

Interesting to see where the seat of the state government was in the past. However, there is not much to see. It's a short visit.

lilkitkit89

The curiosity room on the top floor is full of really awesome art and taxidermy! :)

NJ Riff-Guitarist

This is a neat little historic building in the heart of downtown Hartford.

Michael G Wirth

This was a lot of fun. We went because we heard about the Museum of Curiosities on the second floor. We had to join a tour to see it which was fine because we learned a lot about the building as well as the history of Hartford. They have a neat museum of classic things on the lower floor which was interesting to walk through. Also the women at the front desk and the tour guide were both super nice and friendly. The whole tour only took less than an hour so it's worth it if you have some time to kill.

Robert Tirrell

Amazing there's summer concert series is awesome I recommend it to everyone

David Burnett

Cool place! Not very busy and be sure to check out the curiosity museum!

Paul Gardner

The new one is over on capitol Ave and is more grand and imposing etc. However this old state house has the revolutionary charm of colonial British America

Ken Ray

During a walk through downtown Hartford, I came across the Old State House and noticed that they offered tours. I decided to stop for a tour, especially since they are free for both active duty and retired US Miltary. I was greeted upon arrival by a very friendly staff at the front desk and told that they only offered guided tours, but that I would only need to wait a few minutes for the next one to begin. My tour guide, Nicole, was amazing and extremely knowledgeable about the State House and the land upon which it sits. I was the only one on the tour so it was very much at my own pace and I was able to ask all the questions I could come up with. My two favorite parts of the tour were the Room of Curiosities and learning about Connecticut’s “Little Governor” program for 5th grade aged children. Also, ask about the pocket shutters they have in the windows. My only regret is that I forgot to leave a donation after the tour as I was on a tight schedule for my next appointment. I’ll make it up next time through.

Richard Bonds

Thursday night free concert on the lawn of the old state house great music fun lot of entertainment well managed.

raving nomad

Concert right outside, was fun

Mark A Banks

I haven't been on a tour of the place yet but I have attended the Farmers Market and the live music 🎵🎶!!! There was a band called Justin Chan and the Vices and they were Awesome 👍😎!!! 👑I would love to see them again ☺️!!! So I had an Awesome time at the Old State House from that perspective!!! 👍👑😎 …

Ang C.

Very nice place to go. Definitely slit to learn. The tour guide was great and their gallery was so nice. My daughters 23 and my sons 15 and they had a great time there, learned alot so did I.

Doris

Beautifully maintained! Definitely an untapped historical treasure.

Jan Smith

A must see! Kids exhibits are wonderful, especially in the activities room, downstairs gallery, CT Kid Governor's office, and museum of oddities. Kids and adults will enjoy a visit here. Very reasonable prices. Adults $6, senior or AAA $3, military free! Our tour guide, Jacob, was amazing, full of interesting info. Very knowledgeable. The court room is historical. Staff is wonderful, helpful, and friendly. They even cleared chairs in the courtroom so we could dance and video on the lovely wood floors.

Kelley Hooper

Beautiful building. Phenomenal tour. Basement exhibits are great for the whole family. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable & affable.

David de Angel

A good family outing! Benefits include a guided tour where you learn about state history, government structure and policy, and an interactive area that is good for children and includes curious details adults would also enjoy. There is room for improvement-- hours of operation limit its accessibility and there is ample room to add exhibitions. Still it was a fun trip for us and our 2 year-old.

Arturo Austria

There is an amazing historical tour beyond its walls. The girl who lead me during my visit was able to show me her passion for all the events related to Hartford. You must enjoy this great experience...

Loretta Waldman

Attended Sousapalooza concert there in June. It was awesome and free!

Nelson Whipple

Wonderful place to visit with always more layers to it than meets the eye. Long a centerpiece of Hartford and the state of Connecticut, this modest building packs in more exhibits and history than any single tour could cover. The tours are information-filled to be sure, and they leave you with your head buzzing and an appetite to learn more. The OSH is continually evolving, incorporating new historical facts, adapting to new audience perspectives and needs, and introducing new programs and ways of experiencing history that the modern visitor will find relevant and provocative.

Beth Valles

So much better than I'd hoped! Brought 3 kids under 8 and planned for maybe an hour but there was so much fun stuff to do and see that we had to make them leave after 2 hours. Love that they only charge for kids over 6yrs old.

Shane O

I really liked taking the tour. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and you could tell she was passionate about the subject. She had answers for literally every question and detail. Methinks she studied extra information in her free time.

Mike VA

They do live music on Thursdays in the summer, which is really great.

Brian O'Connor

This is an alright historical landmark to take a tour of. Lots of great history in this building dating back to the founding of our nation. I think the Capitol building itself is a much better tour - and it's right down the street. (Though, it's not as old nor more historically significant. But the architecture is better.) The Museum of Curiosities housed in the building is downright weird. A taxidermied two-headed cow? What? WHY? The Wadsworth is right next door and it is vastly superior as far as museums go. (I do realize that these are two different kinds of museums, but if you are looking to enrich your brain, and you only have time to visit one of them, the Big W is the way to go. No freak cows, you know?)

Shawn Henry

This is a very wonderful historical site showing the early history of Conn. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly and he understood what we were interested in and really made the trip for us. If you like early history of the state and government, this is the place for you. Will take at least one hour.

Melissa Freeman

Today we went here. It is a nominal fee to get in. My son participated in the scavenger hunt he won a prize. My son loved this. The museum downstairs is interactive and informative. There is a place where you can build Hartford in during different times. There are explanations of street names. There is mark twains bicycle. There is a fragment of the charter oak here. There are artifacts for different decades. There is an exhibit on Hartford disasters. Inside the displays is a 1912 hartford fire truck. There are small movies here. There are also many other things here. On the first floor there is the governors office and a baseball exhibit. The second floor has the statue of justice. There is a plague here about it. The plagues are very informative. So you should read them. The senate chamber is home to the original presidential portrait of George Washington. Across from there is a room for the house of representatives. Then there is the curiosity museum. There is a 2 headed calf and pig. Overall a deal. X rating 7.9

Aleksander Meterko

Really loved that place with its history, old court and interesting exhibition on the ground floor. Also employee was so nice, told us everything we might need to know and also helped with advices on our next stop.

Frank G

Beautiful Georgian style state house where incredibly important decisions were made for our nation. A historic preservation success story which enhances the local economy, educates the public, and keeps our past tangible.

Chet Olejarz

It's a very nice environment place to visit. They are very friendly. And helpful.

MARILYN WILLIAMS

There for the Burning Spears concert.. lovely place

James Rose

The free TWIDDLE concert on the lawn was AMAZING !!

Mike Dean

Everyone loves the history of Connecticut

Track Life

Full of rich history about Connecticut!!

Joel Hurliman

Very historic building and Museum. For those interested in Revolutionary history, well worth a visit.

Lisa Davis

One of Hartford Ct Historical places great history also a great place to check out always offering things for community on 5he gro7nds front and back even the farmers market comes there

TC W

I enjoyed my visit to the old state house. The museum of curiosities on the upper level was very unexpected

Justin Chapman

My favorite part was the lower floor about Hartford's history, but the restored Chambers were beautiful.

Terri Wilson

Absolutely wonderful place to visit to learn about early Connecticut history! Three floors of wonder things to see and learn. Worth the visit.

Michelle Konigsburg

Tour was excellent. Connecticut's history clearly described. Many interesting places within the building.

george small

It's a great piece of Hartford,Ct history and right in the center of the city ,easily accessible, just a short walk from any where downtown

Timothy Degnan

A must visit if your downtown. A great peace of history on the founding of the United States. George Washington was actually there.

Bronz Khrome

It was pretty cool....Always walk by it on my way to then visited one with co-workers ans I liked it.

Eunice Taylor

I was here on the outside for Diner on Blanc 19 and thought this was a great choice for the city's first time hosting the event!

Rahul K

Not open for public. But, historic place.

Joshua Surita

Very educational haven't learned so much about history in years

Robert LaPierre

Having lunch on the benches in front was my favorite! Lots to see and knowledgeable docents too!

Nathan Warkentin

There is a lot of cool history that you can learn here. I liked that they had a double headed pig here.

Ang Elo

Free for military. Fun little museum full of Connecticut history.

Alexandra Gomez

It had old fashioned items, super cute. And a cool car♡

Ohodgee Nieves

Old state house hours vary by season.

Weston Ulbrich

If only all historic buildings were preserved like this one.

colleen Payne

Been many times. The improvements they made to appeal to children are phenomenal.

Kevin Johnson

Loved it, very educational. Wish there were public parking

Elias Ortiz

it looks empty from outside. its fencwd off. i dont think you can go inside. i could be wrong

David Powers

Awesome example of Connecticut history.

steve cannon

A great piece of New England history. If you care about our history you should see it.

DHH

Beautiful but cannot see inside st this time

TesserCT71

Even though you can't go in right now its still a beauty

Janice Hill

I have been going there for years, I love the environment.

Anthony McCann

Rich historic information and pictures of important moments in CT storied past.

Ted Jastrzebski

Wonderful sense of Connecticut's history.

Finn

The Fun Museum!

Malcolm Freeman

The Amistad welcoming was awesome! 🙏🏾 …

Marlude Pierre-Louis

A nice building with several businesses and a food court area.

Necmi Biyikli

Enjoyed the new year's Kids Fest, thanks to all!

Mark Aiello

Woody dogs are the best food truck there

David Day

One of the most intricate and well maintained State Houses.

Howard Taylor

What more needs to be said than Connecticut historical site

Daniel Mullen

Lots to see if you like history and old stuff

Bennett Luper

A great place to visit here in Connecticut!

Stephen Hansen

Museum in the basement was better than expected

Joe Ellis

Very interesting history and tours!

Ken W

Lot of history their . like what almost happened there during war of 1812

Haley Colaluca

Attended a winter wedding ceremony....beautiful

Shantae Valentine

Fun for anyone into historical things

Matthew Long

Great Building for Seminars and Lectures!

Luis Vicente

I was taking a walk on downtown in Hartford, CT

Sena Akarca Biyikli

Very nice exhibition downstairs

Boston Mass

Good place to bring the kids to

Carmen Ortiz

Nice place big high ceilings

Ryan Paul

4 Star skatespot! :P

Luís Enrique Méndez Angulo

It's fabulous, crazy to here it's closed

Arlie Alsup, Jr

Wonderful capital building.

Taina Dejesus

Looking like its about to get knocked down or something.

Stacey Brandner

My bank is here easy access

Anastatian E Romani Journalist Gypsy

They have a very clean latrine

Chad Balcom

Oddities and curiosities are a must see.

sarah jones

Excellent staff and service for customers

Brad Rossier

Very nice and helpful people

Nope None

Was at an event at Riverside Park in Hartford!

TSAR- Bomba

Bus stop pics.

Virginia Towner

Great place to visit

Nicholas Copeland

Absolutely loved it!

Colton Selbie

Cool.

Bro.Kenneth B. Downes

IT A STATE HOUSE OK?

Maelito “The Street Poet” Correa

Cool!

The Gizmo

One of Connecticut's gems!

Christopher Fleser

Beautiful architecture

מרדכי סולימרסקי

Nice

Cherry Tanya

AMEN AMEN and Beautiful

Denico Harrison

Great

Dray

Fun

Marilyn Watson

Nice

Mary Torres

It is nice

Allon Yomtov

So much histories.

Maha Junaid

Beautiful!

Masheema Bryant

Very Education

Lori Fredericks

Lots of history

Ed Ciecka

Historical place

My Pretty Pink Poodle

Construction....forever

Jose Sanchez

Look place

Debasis Shee

Nice place

Herbert Downton Colomine

Very interesting.

Mylène Abraham

It was interesting, plus there was a nice space for children. The price was right and the guide was passionate.

ChINIZ AnN

Nice and the streets in the area are beautiful.

Robert Lindsey

I like

Nilsa Ortiz

Excellent.

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