Independence Hall

Independence Hall stands at 520 Chestnut Street in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built as the Pennsylvania State House, the seat of the colonial legislature, and was completed in 1753. Even then it was admired as one of the finest buildings in the colonies.

The Second Continental Congress met here during the American Revolution. On 14 June 1775 Congress created the Continental Army in the building, and on 4 July 1776 it adopted the Declaration of Independence. From May to September 1787 the Constitutional Convention met in the same room and drafted the Constitution of the United States. The building was renamed the Hall of Independence in 1824.

The red brick building is in the Georgian style, with a central tower and steeple that have been rebuilt several times. Its best-known room is the Assembly Room, restored by 1965 to its 18th-century appearance, where the Declaration was signed and the Constitution was debated. The Liberty Bell once hung in the tower and is now displayed across the street in the Liberty Bell Center.

Independence Hall is the centrepiece of Independence National Historical Park, managed by the National Park Service, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Entry is by free guided tour with a timed ticket, and tickets are limited, especially in spring and summer, so reserve ahead through the park's booking system where required. Security screening is required. The Liberty Bell Center, Congress Hall and the National Constitution Center are all within a short walk.

How do you get a ticket for Independence Hall? Tours are free, but the National Park Service issues timed tickets through Recreation.gov when demand is high, and each reserved ticket carries a non-refundable USD 1 administrative fee that annual passes do not cover. Tickets for the next day are released at 5 pm the day before, first come, first served, and any tickets left unbooked stay available until the tour time.

Security screening closes 15 minutes before the building closes, or earlier when every tour is full. Arrive at the screening point 30 minutes before your tour time, as lines build in summer and around 4 July.

What to see on the tour. Rangers start in the East Wing and lead groups into the Assembly Room, where the chair George Washington used as president of the Constitutional Convention still stands. Benjamin Franklin remarked at the close of the convention that the carved sun on its back was rising, not setting. Across the hall, the former Pennsylvania Supreme Court courtroom shows how colonial trials worked.

Congress Hall next door, where the US Congress met from 1790 to 1800 while Philadelphia was the capital, is included in many tours. The Great Essentials exhibit in the West Wing displays original printed copies of the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, along with the silver inkstand thought to have been used at the signings.