Carpenters' Hall of Philadelphia
Carpenters' Hall is a treasure in historic Philadelphia. It hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774 and was home to Franklin's Library Company, The American Philosophical Society, and the First and Second Banks of the United States.
GO 4TH & LEARN: LEGOS AND HANDS-ON LEARNING AT CARPENTERS’ HALL
On Tuesday, July 2nd from 11am to 3pm, Carpenters’ Hall, in partnership with the Franklin Institute, and Wawa Welcome America, welcomed the public to Carpenters’ Court for a free and fun day of interactive Lego building and science-learning related demonstrations. Selected Lego builds were judged by young professionals in the architecture, engineering and building trades at a cocktail hour reception following this event. The top three winning builds are now displayed in Carpenters’ Hall for the rest of the summer.
In addition to interactive Lego builds and food trucks and giveaways curtesy of Wawa Welcome America, Carpenters’ Hall unveiled a new Lego model of Carpenters’ Hall. Crafted from 50,000 Lego pieces, this model was created by Richard Paules, a lifelong Lego afficionado from Washington, DC. He has previously been commissioned to build large scale Lego replicas of buildings such as Dulles Airport.
This model depicts Carpenters’ Hall as it would have looked during the First Continental Congress in 1774. Note the view into the eastern half of the first floor of the building where the delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met. Also, peek into the second-floor library of Carpenters’ Hall, which then housed Benjamin Franklin’s Library Company. This collection was used by delegates during the First Continental Congress.
Paules can be found on Instagram @dclegoman.
This new permanent exhibit was made possible by a generous donation from McHugh Engineering Associates, Inc. & the Witkowski Family.
COMING SOON: THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the start of the Second Continental Congress in 1774, the Carpenters’ Company, the nonprofit organization founded in 1724 that owns and operates Carpenters’ Hall, will collaborate with national partners National History Day and Generation Citizen and a network of history and civic organizations in Philadelphia to convene the Young People’s Continental Congress(YPCC).
YPCC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for participants and an ideal springboard for the celebration of the Semiquincentennial of American independence in 2026.
For more details and to meet this year’s delegates, click here.
On February 15th, Carpenters’ Hall hosted a press event to announce the delegates of our Young People’s Continental Congress and other anniversary year activities. Check out images from that event by visiting CBS News.
Follow the journey to this momentous event by following up on our Young People’s Continental Congress social media:
Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @ypccphiladelphia
THE Carpenters' CoMPANY
Set humbly back from Chestnut Street, the Hall has been continuously owned and operated by The Carpenters' Company
of the City and County of Philadelphia, the oldest craft guild in America, since 1770.
RENT THE HALL
Carpenters' Hall can accommodate events for up to 125 guests. The Hall is open to the public from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday and cannot be rented during those hours.
NOTE: Rental of Carpenters’ Hall will resume September 2023.
OPEN to THE PUBLIC
Today, Carpenters' Hall is free to the public and welcomes over 150,000 world-wide visitors to this wonderful Georgian building. Admission has been complimentary since 1857, when it became the first privately owned American building to be opened as a historic monument.
