Carpenters' Hall

This building served as the meeting place for the First Continental Congress.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

320 Chestnut Street

Significance:

The First Continental Congress sat here in 1774.

MANAGED BY:

The Carpenters' Company

Amenities

3 listed

Gifts/Souvenirs/Books, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. This building is still owned and operated by the Carpenters' Company, and is a partner site of Independence National Historical Park. The building sits at the end of an alley visible from Chestnut Street, between 3rd and 4th Streets. Just looking down the alley to the exterior of the building is a cool view.

Carpenters' Hall, home to the Carpenters' Company trade guild, served as the meeting place of the First Continental Congress. In 1774, delegates met in the newly completed building in response to the British Parliament's passage of the "Intolerable Acts" against the colony of Massachusetts. Instead of adopting measures proposed by radical members, moderation prevailed as delegates signed agreements of non-importation of British goods and drafted a petition to King George III asking for his assistance.