Bulfinch's first building was the Hollis Street Church. Among his other early works are a memorial column on Beacon Hill, the first monument to the American Revolution; the Federal Street theater ; the "Tontine Crescent", fashioned in part after John Wood's Royal Crescent; the Old State House in Hartford, Connecticut ; and the Massachusetts State House. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1791. Over the course of ten years, Bulfinch built a remarkable number of private dwellings in the Boston area, including Joseph Barrell's Pleasant Hill, a series of three houses in Boston for Harrison Gray Otis, and the John Phillips House. He built several churches in Boston, of which New North is the last standing. Serving from 1791 to 1795 on Boston's board of selectmen, he resigned due to business pressures but returned in 1799. From 1799 to 1817, he was the chairman of Boston's board of selectmen continuously, and served as a paid police superintendent, improving the city's streets, drains, and lighting. Under his direction, both the infrastructure and civic center of Boston were transformed into a dignified, classical style. Bulfinch was responsible for the design of the Boston Common, the remodeling and enlargement of Faneuil Hall, and the construction of India Wharf. In these Boston years, he also designed the Massachusetts State Prison ; Boylston Market ; University Hall for Harvard University ; the Meeting House in Lancaster, Massachusetts ; and the Bulfinch Building, home of the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital, its completion overseen by Alexander Parris, who was working in Bulfinch's office at the time the architect was summoned to Washington. Despite this great activity and civic involvement, Bulfinch was insolvent several times starting in 1796, including at the start of his work on the statehouse, and was jailed for the month of July 1811 for debt. There was no payment for his services as selectman, and he received only $1,400 for designing and overseeing the construction of the State House. In the summer of 1817, Bulfinch's roles as selectman, designer, and public official coincided during a visit by President James Monroe. The two men were almost constantly in each other's company for the week-long visit, and a few months later, Monroe appointed Bulfinch the successor to Benjamin Henry Latrobe as Architect of the Capitol in Washington, DC In this position, he was paid a salary of $2,500 per year plus expenses. As Commissioner of Public Building, Bulfinch completed the Capitol's wings and central portion, designed the western approach and portico, and constructed the Capitol's original low wooden dome to his own design. In 1829 Bulfinch completed the construction of the Capitol, 36 years after its cornerstone was laid. During his interval in Washington, Bulfinch also drew plans for the State House in Augusta, Maine, a Unitarian Church and prison in Washington, D.C.. In 1827, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary member. He returned to Boston in 1830, where he died on April 15, 1844, aged 80, and was buried in King's ChapelBurial Ground in Boston. His tomb was later moved to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1943, a United States Liberty ship named the SS Charles Bulfinch was launched. The ship was scrapped in 1971.
