Independence National Historical Park - Independence Hall

Fig. 1: Independence Hall, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

The exterior of Independence Hall is iconic. This is where the country got started. The greatest minds from across the colonies gathered here to debate reconciliation with England or independence from it. We learn about it in history class in school, but to stand in the same building, walk the same paths, climb the same steps as the Founding Fathers is amazing. Seeing it nestled amid modern buildings makes me wonder what George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, among others, would think to see their creation today.

The rear of the building is just as beautiful. I tend to choose one picture from a special trip like this one to have transferred to canvas. For this trip to Philadelphia, this is the one, the rear view of Independence Hall.

Fig. 2: Rear view, Independence Hall

The interior is full of  Georgian architectural details.

Fig. 3: Interior Georgian architectural detail

The National Park Service provides a wealth of information and multimedia on Facebook and YouTube as well as a digital image archive for the National Park system.

A guided tour through the building becomes a lesson in history. Frankly, a month away from my visit, I can't remember all the little details of that tour, but I'll tell you what I do remember. (Guess I should have taken notes!) The tour of Independence Hall does not include all the rooms in the building, but to quote the National Park Service,

          Independence Hall is the birthplace of America. The Declaration of Independence and U.S.
          Constitution were both debated and signed inside this building.

          Built between 1732 and 1756 to be the Pennsylvania State House, the building originally
          housed all three branches of Pennsylvania's colonial government. The Pennsylvania legislature
          loaned their Assembly Room out for the meetings of the Second Continental Congress and
          later, the Constitutional Convention. Here, George Washington was appointed Commander in
          Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781,
          and Benjamin Franklin gazed upon the "Rising Sun" chair in 1787. (Para. 1-2)

Here are the remaining photos I took during the tour:

Fig. 4: Court Room, first floor

The Pennsylvania Assembly room became the room where independence was deliberated and where the Declaration of Independence was debated and revised. Can you imagine putting your heart and soul into a document only to have the brilliant men around you criticize and change it right in front of you? That's exactly what happened to Thomas Jefferson. He stated later that they "mangled" it. 

 

Fig.5: Pennsylvania Assembly room, staged for independence deliberations

 Fig. 6: George Washington's chair

As George Washington resided, Benjamin Franklin took note of the sun cargving at the top of Washington's chair. At the end of the successful Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin said, "I have often . . . looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I . . . know that it is a rising and not a setting sun" (Para. 33). There are beautifully done close-ups of the chair and its detail here.

Fig. 7: Franklin's location, set with his pipe

 Fig. 8: Jefferson's location, set with his walking  stick

Other important rooms await in this building. The first House of Representatives met here. As the country grew, more seating was needed, so the building was expanded. You can see toward the right (the wall butts out a bit) where the room was renovated to accommodate the additional legislators.

Fig. 9: First House of Representatives

The Senate met on the second floor. The room is much more elegantly decorated, and people at the time complained that the Senate was spending too much money on itself. Some things never change! And, as with Washington's Sun Rise Chair on the first floor, these chairs are original. So, while we tourists were allowed to sit in the House benches, the entire Senate was roped off. 

 Fig. 10: First Senate Chamber

Fig. 11: Center of Senate Chamber

The room boasts a reproduction of the rug that graces the Chamber. I figured this must be where the idea of the round rug in the Oval Office came from.

My visit to Philadelphia was truly wonderful. While I didn't get to see everything, like The Benjamin Franklin Museum at Franklin's Court, the interior or Christ Church, or the Liberty Bell, I did get to see most of what I wanted to see and left myself with several good excuses to visit Philadelphia again.

Oh, and that "personal reason" for visiting Philadelphia that I mentioned at the start of the previous post?

 Fig. 12: Can you guess what else I did that weekend in Philadelphia?????

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Works Cited

"Independence Hall."  Independence National Historical Park. National Park Service.  n.d. 

     Web. 28 Jul. 2014. <http://www.nps.gov/inde/historyculture/places-independencehall.htm>.

"Madison Debates, September 17." The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy.

     Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. n.d. Web. 28 Jul. 2014. <http://avalon.law.yale. 

     edu/18th_century/debates_917.asp>.