Deval Patrick exited the State House on his last full day as governor.
Earlier in the day, Patrick and his wife met with Baker and his wife, Lauren, in the governor’s office. The couples sat on separate sofas, sipping champagne, as a fire crackled in a fireplace behind them.
As cameras rolled, Patrick handed Baker four traditional gifts that symbolize the continuity of power: a pewter key, once used to unlock the original governor’s office; Butler’s bible from 1884; a gavel made out of white oak from the USS Constitution; and two volumes of the Massachusetts laws, dating to 1860, inscribed with a message from the outgoing governor to his successor.
“You can read it at your leisure,” Patrick told Baker, without revealing the contents.
During the meeting, Baker said he has chosen to hang a portrait of Governor John Volpe in his office. Baker’s father worked for Volpe after Volpe became transportation secretary under President Nixon.
Diane Patrick told Lauren Baker, “I will always be available to you” and suggested they get together soon.
After the meeting, the two men shook hands at the threshold of the governor’s office, and Patrick began his lone walk through the State House’s marble corridors, packed with hundreds of dignitaries.
He seemed to grow most emotional when fourth graders from Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School in Roxbury recited part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. In 2012, Patrick had invited that same group of students, then first graders, to recite the speech for President Obama at the White House.
Stepping outside onto the State House steps, Patrick basked in cheers from a crowd of supporters on Beacon Street, some of whom held signs thanking him for his service.
Alex Papali, 40, an Indian immigrant who works for Clean Water Action, said he wanted to thank the governor for opposing Secure Communities, a federal program targeting illegal immigrants, and for pledging to welcome unaccompanied children fleeing Central America amid a heated national debate last year.
“He’s really taken some political risks,” said Papali, who lives in Jamaica Plain. “For that and for many other things, it’s important for the people to show their gratitude at the end of a period of accomplishment. He’s really done a lot.”
Patrick seemed to be taking it all in and emphasized that it has been an honor to serve as governor. But he said there’s one aspect of public life he won’t miss: having a State Police detail accompany him everywhere he goes.
“Going to the grocery store without a state trooper?” he said. “Kind of looking forward to that.”
David Scharfenberg of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mlevenson.