sister buildings from possible destruction, it was evident that many
local officials did not consider the ensemble worthy of complete
preservation. As early as 7 years prior to purchasing this property from
the State, municipal authorities presented the Legislature with
petitions requesting that the Commissioners of the City and County of
Philadelphia be permitted “to pull down the east and west wings of the
state-house ... and to erect in their place, suitable buildings for the
deposit of the records of said City and county....” On March 24, 1812,
this authority was granted by the State Government. The old wings and
the committee room were demolished, to be replaced by “modern” office
buildings designed by the architect, Robert Mills. These new offices
consisted of two row buildings attached to the east and west ends of the
State House. Often called “State House row,” they were occupied by
various officials of the city, county, and federal governments.
Other changes to the State House followed as a result of the City’s
desire to adapt it for current needs. The Assembly Room, in which the
Declaration of Independence had been adopted, was converted into a court
room. This was “modernized” by the removal of its paneling and the
substitution of plaster and paint. Furthermore, the Chestnut Street
doorway was replaced by a more ornate one, which was wholly out of
keeping with the simple dignity of the structure.
[Illustration: _City election at Independence Hall. Elections were
held at Independence Hall throughout the Colonial period and for
many years thereafter._ From a painting by J. L. Krimmel (c. 1815).
Courtesy Historical Society of Pennsylvania.]
The first occupant after the State government moved to Lancaster was
Charles Willson Peale, who, in 1802, received permission to use the
upper floor of the State House (including the tower rooms) and the
Assembly Room on the first floor, for his museum which had occupied
Philosophical Hall since 1794. By the terms of the agreement, Peale was
responsible for the maintenance of both the building and the State House
Yard.
In order to make the building more suitable for his museum, Peale
removed the alterations made in 1778-79 to accommodate the Assembly, and
rebuilt the long room to appear as it did during the Colonial period.
The museum, which occupied the second floor of the State House until
1828, included not only an extensive collection of natural history items
but also a unique portrait gallery of the great men of this Nation,
painted largely by Charles Willson Peale and his son, Rembrandt. Peale
also took most seriously his charge to care for the State House Yard, or
Garden, as Independence Square was then known. He planted trees, added
new gates and benches, and improved the walls and lawns. It was most
fortunate that a man of Peale’s caliber was responsible for the
property’s care during this dark period.
[Illustration: _Plan showing use of Independence Hall by the City of
Philadelphia and the Federal Courts._ From _Philadelphia in 1824_.
Courtesy American Philosophical Society.]
PLAN OF THE STATE HOUSE.
Second Floor
{East Wing}
Common Council
Select Council
Watering Committee
Grand Jury Room
Guardians of the Poor
White Witness Room
Black Witness Room
Prothonotary office for the District of the City & County
MUSEUM
Mammoth Room
Lecture Room
Quadruped Room
Stairs to the Marine Room
Long Room
Clerk of the U. S. Court
Marshalls Office
County Commissioners
Auditors Office
{West Wing}
Circuit Court
Controller of Public Schools
Law Library
Supreme Court
First Floor
{East Wing}
Mayors Office
Mayors’ Private Room
City Comm^s
City Treas^r
Clerk of the Mayors Court
Recorder of Deeds
Register of Wills.
Prothonotary of Supr^e Court
Court Room
Entrance to the Museum &c.
Mayors Court.
Prothonotary of Com^n Pleas
Sheriffs Office
Clerk of Orphans Court
Clerk of Quarter-Sessions
{West Wing}
Common Pleas
District Court
After Peale’s museum moved from the State House in 1827-28, the second
floor was rented to the United States Government for judicial purposes.
Alterations were made under the direction of the architect, John
Haviland, to adapt the space for its new use. The long room was again
obliterated, and the western portion of the upper floor was made into
one large room for the use of the United States Circuit and District
Courts. The partitions in the eastern portion apparently were retained;
the northern room became the jury room for the court and the southern
room, the office of its clerk. This occupancy of the State House by
Federal courts continued until 1854. Consolidation of the city and
districts in that year made more room necessary for city offices, and
the Federal courts were forced to move. Their place was taken over by
City Councils. The court room on the west was occupied by the Common
Council. On the east, the partition between the former offices of the
court clerks was removed, and a single room was fitted for the Select
Council. These Councils occupied the upper floor until 1895.
[Illustration: _Independence Square (State House Garden) in 1800,
showing brick wall and high gate at Walnut Street._ Engraved by
William Birch, 1800. Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
_Independence Square_
Until the 1820’s, Independence Square was known variously as “State
House Yard” or “State House Garden.” Originally the land bounded by
Chestnut, Walnut, Fifth, and Sixth Streets had been set aside by William
Penn as “bonus lots.” To each purchaser of a substantial farm or
“country lot,” Penn also gave a city lot as a bonus. The pieces in this
particular square were given to Welsh Quakers who settled in Radnor
Township.
By the time the ground along Chestnut Street was acquired to erect the
State House, most of the original owners had already sold their parcels.
By deed dated October 15, 1730, the first lot on the square was
purchased by William Allen for the use of the Province. Within the next
2 years the entire Chestnut Street frontage, extending halfway back to
Walnut Street, had been secured. Construction of the State House began
in 1732.
The desire to provide a proper setting for the State House was evident
from the beginning. In the year that the building was begun, the
Assembly considered leveling the site and enclosing it with a board
fence “in order that Walks may be laid out, and Trees planted, to render
the same more beautiful and commodious.” As far as is known, however,
the landscaping was not carried out until considerably later.
[Illustration: _Independence Square in 1838, as seen from the
steeple of Independence Hall._ Lithograph by J. C. Wild, 1838.
Courtesy Historical Society of Pennsylvania.]
On February 20, 1736, the Assembly determined on a most important
policy. An act vesting the State House and its grounds in trustees
provided: “That no part of the said ground lying to the southward of the
State House as it is now built be converted into or made use of for
erecting any sort of buildings thereon, but that the said ground shall
be enclosed and remain a public open green and Walks forever.” This
provision has been retained as a guiding principle in the development of
the square save for occasional deviations. On August 9, 1739, the
Assembly ordered “that Materials be prepared for encompassing the Ground
with a Wall in the ensuing Spring....” Two years later a portion of this
wall was taken down and rebuilt with a shingle cornice added to carry
off rain water.
Purchasing the remainder of the square was delayed nearly four decades.
On May 14, 1762, the Assembly directed that the balance of the land be
obtained, and by 1769 the necessary lots had been acquired. In 1770, the
Assembly enclosed the whole square with a brick wall 7 feet high,
pierced at the center of the Walnut Street front by a tall arched
gateway with solid wooden doors.
At this time the square contained the State House, with its wings and
wooden sheds, and a small wooden platform erected in 1768. The latter
was constructed at the instigation of the American Philosophical Society
for observing the transit of Venus across the sun on June 3, 1769. It is
believed that the observatory stood about 40 feet south of the east wing
of the State House.
Although landscaping the State House Yard had been long discussed,
nothing of consequence appears to have been done in this regard during
the Colonial period. At the time of the American Revolution, the square
apparently was more or less barren, with no planned landscaping or
system of walks. Cannon, which must have been a prominent feature of the
yard, were parked within the walls.
[Illustration: _Independence Square from Walnut Street gate, looking
north._ Ink sketch from an early photograph.]
With the return of peace, interest was again awakened in improving the
grounds. Landscaping was finally begun about 1784 under the direction of
Samuel Vaughan, a wealthy Jamaica sugar planter then living in
Philadelphia. In addition to the wide central walk of gravel, leading
from the tower door to the Walnut Street gate, and the serpentine walks
about the perimeter of the square, the most noticeable feature of the
yard was the assortment of 100 elm trees presented to the Commonwealth
by George Morgan, of Princeton. Shortly after the landscaping was
completed, the Reverend Manasseh Cutler visited this square and
described it in his journal as a “fine display of rural fancy and
elegance.”
The trees are yet small, but most judiciously arranged. The artificial
mounds of earth, and depressions, and small groves in the squares have
a most delightful effect. The numerous walks are well graveled and
rolled hard; they are all in a serpentine direction, which heightens
the beauty, and affords constant variety. That painful sameness,
commonly to be met with in garden-alleys, and other works of this
kind, is happily avoided here, for there are no two parts of the Mall
that are alike. Hogarth’s “Line of Beauty” is here completely
verified.
[Illustration: _Triumphal arch for Lafayette’s visit to Independence
Hall, September 28, 1824._ Unidentified engraving (c. 1824).
Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
The next alteration of the State House Yard following Vaughan’s
landscaping was undertaken in 1812. In that year, when the old wing
buildings were demolished to be replaced by “modern” office buildings,
the high brick walls were removed to allow a “freer circulation of air.”
In their place was erected in the following year, a low brick wall,
about 3 feet high, with a marble coping surmounted by a railing of plain
iron palisades. Access to the square was provided by a large gate on
Walnut Street and smaller ones on Fifth and Sixth Streets, about halfway
between Chestnut and Walnut.
Other changes affecting the early scene followed in 1876. Along with
such necessary improvements as resodding and new drainage, broad steps
were constructed in the center of the Walnut Street front and at the
corners on Fifth and Sixth Streets. Wide flagstone walks were laid
through the grounds in almost every direction from street to street. The
later addition of steps on Fifth and Sixth Streets, near Chestnut,
substantially established the condition of the square as it is today.
Through the years the square has served varied purposes. It was
frequently the scene of mass meetings and public demonstrations. Large
gatherings met here frequently in the course of the critical days before
and during the early part of the Revolution. The most noteworthy of
these occurred on July 8, 1776, when, from the observatory
platform—described above—Col. John Nixon read publicly for the first
time that document since known as the Declaration of Independence.
_Evolution of a Shrine_
The “State House” did not become “Independence Hall” till the last half
of the 19th century. This change in designation, which began about the
time of Lafayette’s visit to America, is closely linked with the
evolution of the building as a national shrine.
Prior to 1824, there was but little reverence or regard for the State
House. The visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to Philadelphia in that
year, however, awakened an interest in the building which has persisted
to this day.
Elaborate preparations were made for the visit of the celebrated friend
of America, much of it centering around the State House, which became
the principal point of interest. Across Chestnut Street, in front of the
building, was erected a huge arch “constructed of frame work covered
with canvas, and painted in perfect imitation of stone.” The old
Assembly Room, called for the first time “Hall of Independence,” was
completely redecorated. The walls and ceiling were painted stone color,
and windows were “hung with scarlet and blue drapery studded with
stars.” Portraits of Revolutionary heroes and the Presidents virtually
filled the available wall space. Mahogany furniture was “tastefully and
appropriately disposed.”
Lafayette was formally received in the “Hall of Independence” by the
Mayor and other dignitaries on September 28. On the days following,
during his week-long visit, the chamber served as his levee room.
The interest in the State House engendered by Lafayette’s visit was not
permitted to die. In 1828, the City Councils obtained plans and
estimates to rebuild the wooden steeple which had been removed in 1781.
After heated discussions, William Strickland’s design for the new
steeple was accepted, a large bell to be cast by John Wilbank was
ordered, and Isaiah Lukens was commissioned to construct a clock. Work
was completed on the project during the summer of 1828.
Strickland’s steeple was not an exact replica of the original, but it
may be considered a restoration since it followed the general design of
its predecessor. The principal deviations were the installation of a
clock in the steeple and the use of more ornamentation.
Within 2 years after rebuilding the steeple, interest was aroused in the
restoration of the Assembly Room, or “Hall of Independence.” On December
9, 1830, the subject of the restoration of this room “to its ancient
Form” was considered by the Councils. Shortly afterward, John Haviland,
architect, was employed to carry out the restoration. Apparently,
Haviland confined his work to replacing the paneling that is said to
have been removed but fortunately was preserved in the attic of the
building.
The proper use of the room was always a knotty problem. Following the
Haviland restoration, the room was rented on occasions for exhibiting
paintings and sculpture. Its principal use, however, was as a levee room
for distinguished visitors, including Henry Clay, Louis Kossuth, and
other famous personages, in addition to many Presidents of the United
States from Jackson to Lincoln.
In the 1850’s, and during the critical years of the Civil War,
veneration for the State House became even more evident. In 1852, the
Councils resolved to celebrate July 4 annually “in the said State House,
known as Independence Hall....” This is the first clear-cut use of the
term “Independence Hall” to designate the entire building.
[Illustration: _Independence Hall group in the winter of 1840. (Note
restored steeple and clock, also doorway on Sixth Street side of
Congress Hall.)_ Lithograph by J. T. Bowen after drawing by J. C.
Wild, 1840. Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
[Illustration: _Earliest known photograph of Independence Hall,
taken in 1850 by W. and F. Langenheim._ From their “Views in North
America” series. Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
Perhaps the best expression of this veneration is in the grandiloquent
words of the famed orator Edward Everett, who, on July 4, 1858, said of
the State House, or as it has now come to be known, Independence Hall:
“Let the rain of heaven distill gently on its roof and the storms of
winter beat softly on its door. As each successive generation of those
who have benefitted by the great Declaration made within it shall make
their pilgrimage to that shrine, may they not think it unseemly to call
its walls Salvation and its gates Praise.”
On July 4, 1852, the delegates from 10 of the Thirteen Original States
met in Independence Hall to consider a plan to erect in the square one
or more monuments to commemorate the Declaration of Independence. For
various reasons, their deliberations proved fruitless.
During the years after the restoration of the Assembly Room in 1831, a
few paintings and other objects were purchased by, or presented to, the
City for exhibition. One of the first acquisitions was the wooden statue
of George Washington, by William Rush, which long occupied the east end
of the room. It was not until 1854, however, that the City made any real
effort to establish a historical collection for Independence Hall. In
that year, at the sale of Charles Willson Peale’s gallery, the City
purchased more than 100 oil portraits of Colonial, Revolutionary, and
early Republican personages.
Following the acquisition of Peale’s portraits, the Assembly Room was
refurnished and these paintings hung on the walls. On February 22, 1855,
the Mayor opened the room to the public. From that day on, many relics
and curios were accepted by the City for display in this chamber.
[Illustration: _Independence Hall group in 1853._ Engraving of a
drawing by Devereux. Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
During the Civil War, the “Hall” (or Assembly Room) served a solemn
purpose. From 1861 on, the bodies of many Philadelphia soldiers killed
in the war, and, in 1865, the body of President Lincoln lay in state
there. Such use of the room was not new, however, for John Quincy Adams,
in 1848, Henry Clay, in 1852, and the Arctic explorer, Elisha Kent Kane,
in 1857, lay in state in the venerable room.
In 1860, a movement was begun by the children of the public schools of
Philadelphia to erect a monument to Washington. When the fund was nearly
raised, the Councils provided a space on the pavement directly opposite
the Chestnut Street entrance. The statue, executed by J. A. Bailey, was
unveiled on July 5, 1869.
[Illustration: _In 1855, the Assembly Room became a portrait
gallery, following acquisition by the City of Charles Willson
Peale’s oil paintings of Colonial and Revolutionary figures. (Note
Liberty Bell on ornate pedestal in corner and Rush’s wooden statue
of Washington in center background.)_ Engraving from _Illustrated
London News_, December 15, 1860. Independence Hall collection.]
Little beyond actual maintenance of the buildings seems to have occurred
until 1872 when, with the approach of the Centennial of the Independence
of the United States, a committee for the restoration of Independence
Hall was named by the Mayor. The committee entered upon its duties with
energy. Furniture believed to have been in the Assembly Room in 1776 was
gathered from the State Capitol at Harrisburg and from private sources.
Portraits of the “founding fathers” were hung in the room. The
president’s dais was rebuilt in the east end of the room, and pillars,
thought to have supported the ceiling, were erected. The red paint which
had been applied to the exterior of the building was removed from the
Chestnut Street side. When accumulated layers of paint were removed from
the first floor interior walls, the long-hidden beauty of carved
ornamentation was again revealed.
During the Centennial restoration project, a large bell (weighing 13,000
pounds) and a new clock were given to the City by Henry Seybert for the
steeple of Independence Hall. This clock and bell are still in use.
[Illustration: _The body of Elisha Kent Kane, Arctic explorer, lying
in state in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall, 1857._ Courtesy
Philadelphia Free Library.]
With the close of the Centennial celebration, Independence Hall
experienced a period of quiet, disturbed only by the increasing numbers
of visitors. Then toward the close of the 19th century, another
restoration cycle began, but its emphasis was quite different from that
of any in the past. Except for the replacement of the steeple in 1828,
all restoration work heretofore had been concentrated in the east or
Assembly Room on the first floor. Finally, in the 1890’s interest
extended from the Assembly Room to the remainder of the building. An
ordinance of the Common and Select Councils, approved by the Mayor on
December 26, 1895, called for the restoration of Independence Square to
its appearance during the Revolution. A committee of City officers
concerned with public buildings and an advisory committee of leading
citizens were named by the Mayor to carry out the work. On March 19,
1896, a resolution of the Councils granted permission to the
Philadelphia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to
proceed with the restoration of the old Council chamber on the second
floor of Independence Hall.
Between 1896 and 1898, the committees and the Daughters of the American
Revolution carried out a most extensive program of restoration. The
office buildings designed by Robert Mills were replaced by wings and
arcades which were more like those of the 18th century. The first-floor
rooms of Independence Hall were restored, and the Daughters of the
American Revolution attempted to restore the entire second floor to its
Colonial appearance by reconstruction of the long room, the vestibule,
and the two side rooms. A dummy clockcase, similar to that of the
Colonial period, was rebuilt outside on the west wall, but the planned
moving of the clock back to its 18th-century location was not carried
out. With the completion of this work, the old State House had been
restored to a close approximation of its original design. For the first
time in almost a century the building appeared practically as it did
during the American Revolution.
During the 19th century, the program of restoration and preservation had
been concerned largely with work on Independence Hall, little thought
having been given to the entire group of historical structures on the
square. In fact, according to an act of the General Assembly approved
August 5, 1870, the other buildings on the square were to be demolished.
Fortunately, this act was never carried out; it was finally repealed in
1895.
[Illustration: _Lithograph of Independence Hall in 1876. (Note
Bailey’s statue of Washington opposite Chestnut Street entrance.)_
Courtesy Philadelphia Free Library.]
With the 20th century, emphasis shifted from Independence Hall to the
remainder of the group. Although some restoration work had been done in
Congress Hall by the Colonial Dames of America in 1896, their efforts
were confined to the Senate chamber and to one of the committee rooms on
the upper floor. Additional restoration of Congress Hall was not
undertaken until the American Institute of Architects became interested
in the matter. In 1900, the Philadelphia Chapter of this organization
made a study of the documentary evidence available on the building and
began an active campaign for its restoration. Finally, in 1912, funds
became available and the City authorized the beginning of work under the
auspices of the Philadelphia Chapter. This was completed in the
following year, and President Wilson formally rededicated the building.
In 1934, additional work was done in the House of Representatives
chamber.
[Illustration: _Restored Assembly Room of Independence Hall, 1876.
(Note President’s dais at far end of room, tile floor, and
pillars—then thought to have supported the ceiling.)_ Courtesy
Philadelphia Free Library.]
The restoration of Congress Hall at Sixth Street brought into sharp
contrast the condition of the Supreme Court building (Old City Hall) at
Fifth Street. For many years the American Institute of Architects and
other interested groups urged the City to complete restoration of the
entire Independence Hall group by working on the Supreme Court building.
This phase of the program, delayed by World War I, was not completed
until 1922.
With the completion of restoration projects, the buildings on
Independence Square presented a harmonious group of structures in
substantially the appearance of their years of greatest glory. The
neighborhood in which they were situated, however, had degenerated into
a most unsightly area. Therefore, the improvement of the environs of
Independence Hall, containing a large concentration of significant
buildings, was the next logical development.