The Old State House, Boston

State and Washington Streets
On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony of this building to a jubilant crowd.
In 1761, a full fifteen years before the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed, James Otis delivered a rousing speech against the Writs of Assistance here in this building. The Writs of Assistance refer to the King's ability to issue search warrants without providing any reason.
Otis argued that, "A man's house is his castle" and that, "Every one with this writ may be a tyrant." After watching James Otis deliver his speech, John Adams, who would later become the second president of the United States, declared, "... then and there the child Independence was born."
(The Walker's Guide to The Freedom Trail; publised by pocketmetro, www.pocketmetro.com)