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Birthplace of the United States: Independence Hall
At this stately building in downtown Philadelphia,
13 colonies became a new nation.

When it was built in 1732, Independence Hall was considered one of the most ambitious buildings in the thirteen colonies.
It may seem tiny in comparison to the modern city that has grown around it, but Philadelphia's Independence Hall played a giant role as the birthplace of the United States. Documents written and approved by men meeting in this building created the new nation of the United States and then built the platform of government on which it stands more than 200 years later.

Constructed between 1732 and 1756, the building we know today as Independence Hall was originally the Pennsylvania colony's capitol building. It was here that the Second Continental Congress met in 1775. The Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The document was first read in public in Independence Square four days later, an event celebrated by the ringing of the Liberty Bell, now on display in a pavilion across from the hall.
The chair bore the carving of a sun, and during the convention, Benjamin Franklin said he tried to determine if the sun was rising or setting.




By 1787 the United States had outgrown the limitations of its first Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, so the Constitutional Convention met at Independence Hall and in September formally adopted the new Constitution.

British soldiers occupying Philadelphia in the winter of 1776-77 burned the furnishings used by the Congress for firewood. So today the hall's most famous artifact is the chair George Washington used while serving as President of the Constitutional Convention. The chair bore the carving of a sun, and during the convention, Benjamin Franklin said he tried to determine if the sun was rising or setting. "But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun," he said.

Independence Hall is part of the Independence National Historical Park in downtown Philadelphia. The Visitor Center is at Third and Chestnut Streets. The park is open every day 9:00-5:00, with extended hours in the summer and on weekends. Some buildings are closed on holidays. The timing of tours of Independence Hall varies seasonally. For more information, call (215) 597-8974 or visit the park's website at www.nps.gov/inde. For information about Philadelphia, contact the city's convention and visitors bureau at (215) 636-1666.


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Photo: PhotoDisc
Image: Photo: PhotoDisc