Independence Hall

For other uses, see Independence Hall (disambiguation).

Independence Hall
Exterior of Independence Hall
Location in Philadelphia Location in Pennsylvania Location in the United States
39°56′56″N 75°9′0″W
Location	520 Chestnut Street (between 5th and 6th Streets), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
History
Built	1753 (1753)
Site notes
Architect(s)	Edmund Woolley (original drafts) William Strickland (steeple, 1828)
Architectural style	Georgian
Governing body	National Park Service
Visitors	645,564 (in 2005)
Website	nps.gov/inde
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	vi
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	78
Region	Europe and North America
U.S. National Historic Landmark District – Contributing property
Designated	October 15, 1966
Part of	Independence National Historical Park
Reference no.	66000683

Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States. The building, which is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979. It is an example of American Georgian architecture, which is characterized by symmetry, classical proportions, and exposed brick with stone masonry accents.

Independence Hall, which was initially called Pennsylvania State House, was completed in 1753. It was the first capitol of the colonial era Province of Pennsylvania and, even then, was seen as "the greatest ornament in the town". The building became a symbol of liberty, democracy, and the founding of the United States. During the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress convened in the building from 1775 to 1781. They founded the Continental Army there on June 14, 1775, and the Declaration of Independence was adopted there on July 4, 1776. From May 25 to September 17, 1787, the Pennsylvania State House hosted the Constitutional Convention, where the U.S. Constitution was debated, drafted, and ratified.

In 1824, the building was renamed the Hall of Independence when it hosted the Marquis de Lafayette.

In 1915, former U.S. president William Howard Taft presided over a convention at Independence Hall, where the League to Enforce Peace was formed.

The National Park, of which Independence Hall is a part, surrounds it and acts as a buffer zone between the building and the modern urban fabric. Independence Hall is being protected by security screening building entrance. The most significant pressures on the authenticity of the property relate to the large number of visitors, the degradation of the building due to air pollution and acid rain, and commercial development in the vicinity.