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The architects are thought to have been Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton. Until 1799 the building served as the meeting place of the provincial and state governments. The Second Continental Congress met here. The Articles of Confederation were drafted and ratified here. And, the stormy sessions of the Constitutional Convention, presided over by Washington, were also held here.
The present spire which tops the tower proper was added by William Strickland in the restoration of 1828 — a fact not generally known.
One of the two bronze markers in the flagstone pavement commemorates the flag-raising here by Abraham Lincoln (February 22, 1861). The flag he raised had 34 stars, the last one for Kansas, which had just been admitted to the Union. The other marker is to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who spoke on the spot July 4, 1962.
In front of the entrance itself is a familiar statue of Washington erected in 1869. Philadelphia schoolchildren, beginning in 1860, gave their pennies to pay for it. | | Description | |
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To the left of the entrance hall is the Pennsylvania Assembly Room. Here the delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered and by July 4, 1776, had adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The most important treasures in the room are the chair used by Washington during the Constitutional Convention, with its rising sun carved on its back and the silver inkstand designed by Philip Syng, used for the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The room has been restored to its appearance at the time of the signing and the chairs, tables and writing equipment are of the period.
Across the hall is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chamber with its handsome ochre-painted walls and the coat of arms of the Commonwealth above the bench. There are a prisoner's dock and jury boxes. Prisoners stood in the dock throughout the course of their court proceedings — giving rise to the expression "stand trial".
The Palladian window of the the tower staircase faces the old square and frames the statue of Commodore John Barry, "The Father of the American Navy", standing among the trees.
To the left on the second floor is the Governor's Council Chamber, its windows enhanced by blue shades and valances. The eight chairs and the armchair surrounding the table are complemented by eight silver candlesticks. This is the chamber where William Penn's sons and grandsons, or their appointed representatives, presided over the Provincial Council, the highest legislative body in the colony.
Amid elegant surroundings the Royal Governor officially received members of the Pennsylvania Assembly, foreign dignitaries and Indian delegations. The events of 1776 brought an end to the Provincial Council, but similar authority was vested in a Supreme Executive council over which Franklin presided from 1785 to 1788. The room has all the richness of the 18th century, but, with it, directness and simplicity, too. It was a working council room, with its grandfather's clock, telescope and two terrestrial globes.
The Long Gallery, which dominates the second floor, is flooded with north light from nine windows overlooking the three-block-long vista of Independence Mall. The chamber, when completed in 1745, was the largest public room in the Province of Pennsylvania. Suppers, balls and Grand Illuminations were held here to honor the great or mark public events.
In 1777 the British occupied the state house and converted these rooms into hospital wards for captured and wounded soldiers. The other room on this floor is the Committee or Assembly's Chamber. From 1747 to 1752 it served as a combined committee room and library for the Pennsylvania Assembly. It was then given over to the militia of the city of Philadelphia for the storage of supplies and small arms. In 1775 the Pennsylvania Assembly temporarily convened here, while the first floor chamber was occupied by the Continental Congress.
Independence Hall was used for parties in the 19th century, and among those so honored here were Lafayette, Henry Clay and Presidents Jackson, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan. Among those illustrious Americans who have lain in state here are Lincoln, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams and the Arctic explorer, Elisha Kent Kane.
Descending to the first floor, leave Independence Hall by the south door, which gives onto the square. In 1972 the National Park Service replaced the great outdoor clock, which was originally set into the west wall in 1752 and removed in 1828. A 14-foot carved replica of the remarkable clock head was installed on top of the 40-foot soapstone case structure.
The hurried visitor may rush on, but linger if you can — saunter about the winding paving-stone paths and look at the Hall from the vantage point of the square. The proportions of the tower alone delight the eye, the symmetry of the building — in fact of the entire complex of buildings — is a tribute to the artisans and men who built it. Here is the balance and order of the 18th century at its apogee.
And when we speak of these qualities, in some ways the epitome is yet to be seen. For, in Congress Hall, on the northwest corner of the square, is the distillation of all that was fine in the architecture of that remarkable time. It is small, self-contained, functional and beautiful.
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