The interior focus of interest in Independence Hall is the Assembly Room, the eastern one on the first floor. Probably no other room in the United States has been the scene of such political courage and wisdom. In this chamber, members of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention formulated and signed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The room is about 40 feet square and 20 feet high. Twin segmental-arched fireplaces along the east wall flank the speaker’s dais. Massive fluted pilasters raised on pedestals adorn the paneled east wall. The other three walls are plastered. A heavy Roman Doric entablature borders the plaster ceiling. The furniture arrangement at the time of the Continental Congress has been duplicated. The only original furnishings are the “Rising Sun” chair and the silver inkstand with quill box and shaker used by the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution.
Restored Assembly Room, Independence Hall, where Members of the Continental Congress adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence.
The other large room on the ground floor, where the U.S. Supreme Court held sessions for a few days in 1791 and again in August 1796, housed the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and later other State and local courts. The paneled walls are decorated with massive fluted pilasters of the Roman Doric order. The central hall between this room and the Assembly Room is richly adorned with a Roman Doric order of columns and entablature, fully membered. On the second floor are the Long Room, Governor’s Council Chamber, and Committee Room. These are furnished to represent the activities of the Pennsylvania legislature and government prior to 1775.
The Liberty Bell, a worldwide emblem of freedom, is displayed in the tower stair hall on the south end of the first floor. [When this volume went to press, the bell was scheduled to be moved in the near future to a newly constructed belltower, part of the park visitor center, located 2 blocks from Independence Hall.] The source of the 2,080-pound bell’s name is the “Proclaim Liberty” inscription, engraved on it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges (1701). In 1750 the Pennsylvania assembly authorized erection of the Independence Hall belltower, and the next year ordered a bell from England. After it arrived in 1752, it was cracked during testing and was twice recast by local workmen. As the official statehouse bell, it was rung on public occasions. In 1777, before the British occupied Philadelphia, the Government moved it temporarily to Allentown, Pa. Traditionally the bell cracked once again, in 1835, while tolling the death of Chief Justice John Marshall. The exterior appearances of City Hall and Congress Hall have changed little since the 1790’s, when many of the signers served in the Government. The interior of Congress Hall has been restored and refurnished as the meetingplace of Congress in the 1790’s. Exhibits in City Hall describe the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court during the same period of time, and portray Philadelphia life during the late 18th century. Carpenters’ Hall, a block east of Independence Square, is still owned and operated by the Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia. The hall memorializes the First Continental Congress and possesses architectural significance.
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin and the oldest learned society in the United States, still maintains its headquarters in Philosophical Hall. Its distinguished membership once included 15 of the signers. The society’s collections also contain furniture and documents associated with them.
In the years 1789–91, the Library Company of Philadelphia (organized in 1731), one of the first public libraries in the United States, erected Library Hall, across from Independence Square on the corner of Library and Fifth Streets. Numbering among the members were 11 signers, including company founder Franklin. Library Hall, reconstructed by the American Philosophical Society, now serves as its library. The Library Company is quartered elsewhere in the city.
In addition to the preceding buildings, numerous sites associated with the signers have also been identified within the park. Many of them have been marked. On some, later buildings now stand. In a few instances, the National Park Service has excavated and stabilized foundations. Outstanding among the sites is that of the Jacob Graff, Jr., House, two blocks from Independence Hall on the southwest corner of Seventh and Market Streets. Jefferson was occupying the second floor of the 3½-story brick house when he wrote the Declaration in June 1776. His rented quarters consisted of a bedroom and parlor. He likely did much of his writing on a portable writing desk of his own design. In 1791 the Graff House was also the residence of signer James Wilson. It was demolished in 1883.
Other sites include those of the home (1766–90) and other structures associated with Franklin, on Franklin Court in the block south of Market Street between Third and Fourth Streets; two adjoining homes (1785–90 and 1790–95) of Robert Morris, on the southeast corner of Market and Sixth Streets, one of which was the unofficial Presidential Mansion (1790–1800), where John Adams resided (1797–1800) while President; Clarke Hall, on the southwest corner of Chestnut and Third Streets, the residence of Samuel Huntington (1779–81) and Thomas McKean (1781); Benjamin Rush’s home (1791–93), on the northwest corner of Walnut and Third Streets; the James Wilson home (“Fort Wilson”) (1778–90), on the southwest corner of the same intersection; and City Tavern, near Walnut and Second Streets, a gathering place for members of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, as well as other Government officials.
In connection with the U.S. Bicentennial commemoration, the National Park Service plans to reconstruct the Graff House and the City Tavern.