Old State House

Connecticut's original capitol building (from 1797 to 1873) was designed by Charles Bulfinch, who also designed the Massachusetts State House in Boston, and was the site of the trial of the Amistad prisoners. Gilbert Stuart's famous 1801 portrait of George Washington hangs in the senate chamber. The newly expanded space houses interactive exhibits aimed at kids, as well as a Museum of Curiosities that features a two-headed calf, Mark Twain's bicycle, a narwhal's horn and a variety of mechanical devices.