PA -- Philadelphia -- Independence NHP -- Independence Square (exteriors):
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- IND_031227_003.JPG: Independence Hall.
"No stranger ever comes to Philadelphia without paying a visit to this structure, and no public edifice exists among us, which is cherished so warmly in the feelings of the citizens." -- Views of Philadelphia, 1838
The building in front of you was built between 1732 and 1756 as the State House of the Colony of Pennsylvania. Today it is known as Independence Hall, an international symbol of government by the people.
Two great documents took shape here. The Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, set forth the founding principles of the new nation. Eleven years later, in 1787, these principles were embodied in the United States Constitution, now the oldest written constitution in the world.
Interest in the preservation of Independence Hall as a symbol of American ideals has grown. In 1816, Philadelphians saved the old State House from impending demolition. In 1948, the U.S. Congress made this building the centerpiece of a new National Historic Park. Finally, in 1980, Independence Hall was designated a World Heritage Site.
- IND_031227_013.JPG: Directly in front is Independence Hall. The statue is of John Barry, a captain of the U.S. navy. He was one of the first captains in the new colonial navy. In 1776, his ship captured an English gunboat, the first war vessel captured by a commissioned Continental naval officer. The British blockade caused him to shift to army duties and he fought with Washington at Trenton and Princeton. Later, he returned to the navy and captured more vessels. When the new country's navy was formed after the war, Washington appointed him as the first captain of the navy. When he died in Philadelphia in 1803, he was usually called "commodore" although there was no official rank of that. This bronze statue to him was erected in 1907. The yard itself is called Independence Square. From a sign:
The State House Yard, now known as Independence Square, was the scene of both turmoil and tranquility in the late 1700's.
On the eve of the American Revolution, Philadelphia citizens gathered here for mass meetings to protest British policies. As protests turned to war, soldiers drilled and drums echoed, disturbing the deliberations of the Continental Congress inside the State House. The most important result of those deliberations was the Declaration of Independence which was first read in public here in the State House Yard on July 8, 1776.
The scene was quite different when the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787. The sounds of war had faded, and the courtyard had become a peaceful garden. Winding walkways, grassy mounds, and a rich variety of trees and bushes provided a tranquil setting for the founding of the new government.
- IND_031227_140.JPG: Independence National Historic Site @ night
- AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
- Wikipedia Description: Independence Hall (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located inside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Known primarily as the location where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted, the building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and United States Constitution were all signed at Independence Hall. The building is now part of the larger Independence National Historical Park and listed as a World Heritage Site.
Independence Hall is a red brick building, built between 1732 and 1753, and designed in the Georgian style by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton, and built by Woolley. Its building was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature and it was initially inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as their State House. Two smaller buildings adjoin Independence Hall: to the east is Old City Hall, and to the west is Congress Hall. These three buildings are together on a city block known as Independence Square, along with Philosophical Hall, the original home of the American Philosophical Society.
Liberty Bell:
The bell tower steeple of Independence Hall was the original home of the "Liberty Bell" and today it holds a "Centennial Bell" that was created for the United States Centennial Exposition in 1876. The original Liberty Bell, with the distinctive crack, is now on display across the street in the Liberty Bell Center. In 1976 Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited Philadelphia and presented a gift to the American people of a replica Bicentennial Bell, which was cast in the same British foundry as the original. This 1976 bell hangs in the modern bell tower located on 3rd Street near Independence Hall.
Declaration of Independence & Second Continental Congress:
From 1775 to 1783, it served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, a body of representatives from each of the thirteen British North American colonies. The Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, though the vote was held two days earlier and the Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. This historic document unified the colonies in North America who declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. These historic events are celebrated annually with a national holiday for U.S. Independence Day.
On June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress nominated George Washington as commander of the Continental Army—defeating John Hancock in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall. The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what would later become the United States Post Office Department on July 26.
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence on June 7, 1776. The final version of the document is written July 2 (despite minor revisions) and finally, the United States Declaration of Independence is ratified on July 4, 1776 and the new, United States declares independence from the British Empire.
During September of 1777, Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army, and the Continental Congress was forced to abandon the State House and flee to York, Pennsylvania where the Articles of Confederation were approved in November of 1777. The Congress returned on July 2, 1778, after the end of the British occupation.
U.S. Constitution and the Philadelphia Capital Building:
In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Congress of the Confederation endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in June 1787 at Independence Hall.
The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret, and to keep the Hall's windows shut throughout the hot summer. The result was the drafting of a new fundamental government design. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed, and took effect on March 4, 1789, when the new Congress met for the first time in New York's Federal Hall.
In 1790, the Congress moved back into Philadelphia and first met in Congress Hall, mere footsteps away from Independence Hall, on December 6. Philadelphia would remain the seat of the federal government until 1800, where it made its permanent home in Washington, DC. During this time Independence Hall served as the Capitol Building with executive offices, while the Supreme Court assembled in Old City Hall and the Congress continued to meet in Congress Hall.
Recent events:
On October 18, 1918, Tomáš Masaryk proclaimed the independence of Czechoslovakia on the steps of Independence Hall.
In 1948, the interior of the building was restored to its original appearance. Independence National Historical Park was established by the 80th U.S. Congress later that year to preserve historical properties associated with the American Revolution. Independence National Historical Park is made up of a landscaped area of four city blocks, and outlying sites that include: Independence Square, Carpenters' Hall (meeting place of the First Continental Congress), the site of Benjamin Franklin's home, the reconstructed Graff House (where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence), City Tavern (center of revolutionary-war activities), restored period residences, and early banks. The park also holds the Liberty Bell, Franklin's desk, a portrait gallery, gardens, and libraries. A product of extensive documentary research and archaeology by the federal government, the restoration of Independence Hall and other buildings in the park set standards for other historic preservation and stimulated rejuvenation of old Philadelphia.The site is administered by the National Park Service, and it is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (joining only three other U.S. man-made monuments still in use, the others being the Statue of Liberty, Pueblo de Taos, and the combined site of the University of Virginia and Monticello).
On July 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave an address here on Independence Day, 1962. Independence Hall has been used in more recent times as the staging ground for protests because of its symbolic history in support of democratic and civil rights movements. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are now protected in a secure zone with entry at security screening buildings.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as part of a national effort to safeguard historical monuments by the United States Department of Homeland Security, pedestrian travel around Independence Square and part of Independence Mall were restricted by temporary bicycle barriers and park rangers. In 2006, the U.S. National Park Service proposed installing a seven-foot security fence around Independence Hall and bisecting Independence Square, a plan that met with opposition from Philadelphia city officials, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and Senator Arlen Specter. As of January 2007, the National Park Service plan was revised to eliminate the fence in favor of movable bollards and chains, and also to remove at least some of the temporary barriers to pedestrians and visitors.
Independence Hall is pictured on the back of the U.S. $100 bill, as well as the bicentennial Kennedy half dollar. The Assembly Room is pictured on the reverse side of the U.S. two dollar bill, from the original painting by John Trumbull entitled Declaration of Independence.
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