One of the city’s more storied historic buildings was originally constructed to house an artisan’s guild. The Carpenters’ Company was organized in Philadelphia in 1724 for the benefit of the area’s craftsmen, providing an education and support network. They began construction of their headquarters, Carpenters’ Hall, on Chestnut Street near Third Street in 1770.
Just months after the building was completed in 1774, it housed the First Continental Congress, a meeting of delegates from twelve of the colonies early in the Revolutionary era. In a June, 1776, meeting at Carpenters Hall, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was established and declared it's independence from England.
The meeting hall served as a hospital for both British and American troops in the Revolutionary War. The federal Custom House in Philadelphia was located at Carpenter's Hall between 1802 and 1819.
Today the hall is still owned by the Carpenters’ Company, the oldest extant trade guild in the nation. Members of the company have been involved in the construction of some of Philadelphia’s most iconic public buildings, including Independence Hall, City Hall, and Reading Terminal. The hall still hosts Carpenters' Company meetings and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.
1859 1896 1920
1936 Carpenters Hall with the Guarantee Trust & Safe Deposit Company, 1956
Carpenters Hall & the front Current
store, 322 Chestnut St, 1960's
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