Carpenters' Hall
Carpenters' Hall | |
_facade_HABS_PA,51-PHILA_229-4.jpg) Carpenters' Hall north (front) façade | |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Built | 1770 |
| Architect | Smith, Robert |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000552 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 15, 1970 |
Carpenters' Hall is a four-story brick building in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which played a significant part in the early history of the United States. Set back from Chestnut Street, the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia has owned and operated the meeting hall since 1770. This organization was founded in 1724 and remains the oldest extant trade guild in the United States. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 15 April 1970 (# 70000552)[2] and part of Independence National Historical Park.
Within these Walls Henry, Hancock, & Adams inspired the Delegates of the Colonies With Verve and Sinew for the Toils of War
— Inscription over south doorway of Assembly Room, Historic American Buildings Survey [3]
History
Carpenters' Hall was designed by architect Robert Smith (1722-1777) in the Georgian style[4] and built as a four-story brick building between 1770 and 1773 by the Carpenters' Company. It would be first used as a meeting site by the guild on January 21, 1771, and would continue to hold annual meetings there until 1777 when the British would capture Philadelphia.[5] On April 23, 1773 (St. George's Day), it would be used by the Society of Englishmen and Sons of Englishmen.[5]
The First Continental Congress of the United Colonies of North America met here from September 5 through October of 1774, since the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) was being used by the Tory Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania. It was here that Congress resolved to ban further imports of slaves and to discontinue the slave trade within the colonies, a step toward phasing out slavery in British North America.[6] The building has a long history as an assembly place and has been the home to numerous tenants in the arts, sciences and commerce. The meeting hall served as a hospital for both British and American troops in the Revolutionary War, and other institutions in Philadelphia have held meetings in Carpenters' Hall, including Franklin's Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, the First and Second Banks of the United States.
Several dignitaries have visited Carpenters' Hall, including United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Burger, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic, President Guntis Ulmanis of Latvia, and Texas Governor (later U.S. President) George W. Bush with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.[5]
Today, Carpenters' Hall is free to the public, with over 150,000 tourists from around the world who come each year to visit,[7] while the structure still serves the same purpose for which it was built—as a meeting place for the Carpenters' Company.
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Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2006-03-15.
- ^ Statement of Significance
- ^ Insurance survey (written description) conducted April 1811 and additional notes
- ^ "Architectural elements"
- ^ a b c "Timeline of Carpenters' Hall". Retrieved 2007-01-29.
- ^ National Register Amendment "Underground Railroad and Anti-Slavery Movement" (September 2000) Prepared by Anna Coxe Toogood, Historian, INDE
- ^ "Carpenters' Hall". Retrieved 2007-01-29.
External links
- Carpenters’ Hall visitors information and history
- Between 320 and 322 Chestnut Street at Carpenters' Court (between Third and Fourth Street) Philadelphia, PA
- Carpenters' Company, Rule Book (carpentry manual) -
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