Carpenter's Hall - Philadelphia

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Carpenter's Hall

The "carpenters" who created Carpenter's Hall were not really carpenters. Rather, they were a guild of master craftsmen who formed their own association known as the Carpenter's Company of Philadelphia in the 1720's. These men were the master builders of Philadelphia. Their most famous achievement was the construction of Independence Hall .

In 1770 they constructed their meeting hall which was available to be rented. By 1772 they had leased their second floor to Benjamin Franklin for his library company, the first lending library in the colonies. In 1774, the hall became the meeting place of the First Continental Congress.

During the Revolutionary war the hall was used by both sides as a field hospital. In subsequent years the building served as Customs House, a bank, hosted the country's first trade exhibition and was an auction hall.

Over the years the Hall has been visited by Presidents, Kings, Supreme Court Justices and dignitaries from around the world.

Carpenter's Hall is located at 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, telephone 215-925-0167. Open daily, except Mondays (and Tuesdays in January and February), from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM

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