Boston's Old State House is the city's oldest surviving public building, and its near-demolition is almost as dramatic as the history it contains. Built in wood in 1657, it burnt down in 1711 and was rebuilt in brick. By 1894 it was condemned. Chicago offered to buy it and ship it west. Mortified Bostonians raised the funds to save it. A subway line now runs beneath, sending tremors up through the walls.

The Declaration of Independence was first read from its balcony in 1776. Two centuries later, Queen Elizabeth II stood on that same balcony and summed up the whole affair in three words: "All is forgiven." A medallion in the pavement marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre.

VoiceMap's audio tours use the Old State House to trace escalating tensions between Boston's residents and British troops, placing the massacre in the street-level geography that surrounds the building today.