Upcoming Events

Paul Revere’s Philadelphia Connection

Tuesday, September 17th from 5:30 - 7pm

Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

Paul Revere’s 1775 ride to alert Lexington and Concord that “the British are coming” is a legendary part of our nation’s founding narrative. But did you know that seven months before his famous midnight ride Revere rode to Philadelphia while the First Continental Congress was meeting at Carpenters’ Hall? And that this ride was actually the second time in 1774 that he rode from Boston to Philadelphia?

To mark the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride to the First Continental Congress, Carpenters’ Hall is teaming up with the Paul Revere House in Boston, and the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry to shed light on this forgotten chapter of American history. Witness Revere’s arrival by horse and hear from Revere himself and his fellow Bostonian John Adams, who was a delegate to the First Continental Congress, about the crucial news Revere delivered on his Philadelphia rides and how it impacted the course of the American Revolution.

Tickets are $10 general admission. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

PAST EVENTS

Public Reading of the First Prayer in Congress

On September 7, 1774, Rev. Jacob Duché delivered a rousing invocation/prayer at Carpenters' Hall before the Founding Fathers at the First Continental Congress. Exactly 250 years later, Carpenters' Hall marked this moment – which set a precedent for prayer in Congress that continues to this day – with a free public reading of the invocation by Reverend Palmer Hartl of Christ Church.

Watch the video below for a full recording of the reading.

First Continental Congress Forever® Stamp First day-of-issue dedication ceremony

On Thursday, September 5th, Carpenters’ Hall hosted a dedication ceremony for the new First Continental Congress Forever Stamp. This stamp was issued to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress which took place inside Carpenters’ Hall in 1774. Fifty-six delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies convened to discuss their response to England’s increasing control and taxation. This ceremony included guest speakers and the opportunity to purchase the stamp and receive autographs from the speakers on program books.

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.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY TOUR OF THE OLEY VALLEY

On Saturday, April 13th, 2024 the Carpenters' Company hosted a small group architectural history tour of the Oley Valley in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Oley township in its entirety was designated a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and residents, preservationists and historians continue to preserve and promote Oley Valley's unique historic landscape.

Carpenters’ Company consulting historian Tom Stokes led the group through buildings and sites from the 18th and 19th centuries, some of which are either still in use or are being actively preserved. We visited the Exeter Quaker meetinghouse, the Kauffman Farm, the Johannes Yoder Farmstead, the Lobachsville Gristmill, and the Keim Homestead.

Celebrating Robert smith’s birthday and kicking off our anniversary year: January 18th, 2024

On Thursday, January 18th, 2024, we gathered in Carpenters’ Hall to celebrate the birthday of the architect and master builder of Carpenters’ Hall and Carpenters’ Company member, Robert Smith, and kick-off the start of our grand Anniversary year.

Born on January 14, 1722, in Dalkeith, Scotland, Robert Smith was Colonial America's leading architect and builder. His extant work in Philadelphia includes Carpenters' Hall, the Powel House, St. Peter's Church and the steeple of Christ Church. He also built Nassau Hall in Princeton and the Public Hospital in Williamsburg, among many others. He was also a devout patriot who designed Delaware River defenses to thwart British warships.

The night featured performances of Scottish dances by The Campbell School of Highland Dance and a fiddler performance by musician Sean Heely.

The Carpenters’ Company would like to extend a special thank you to our lead partners and sponsors, the St. Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia (of which Robert Smith was also a member) and the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution. We would also like to thank ImpEx Beverages Inc. for providing scotch and all our wonderful performers.

Arriving, Staying, Leaving: The Idea of Home

On September 26th, 2023, the Carpenters’ Company in partnership with MGA Partners, and sponsored by Premier Building Restoration, Inc. hosted John Jarboe and Drew Philp for a night of performance (the first drag show held in Carpenters’ Hall!) and intimate conversation. Drew Philp is the author of A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and an American City. John Jarboe, a college classmate of Philp’s, is the founder and artistic director of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, founded in 2010, which uses the tropes of queer performance to engage audiences and explore issues of history, sexual politics and popular culture.

Thank you to our partners, Philp, Jarboe, and everyone who was able to come out! Please view some pictures from the event below. Photos were taken by Michael Xu and Chris Raia from MGA Partners.

Our grand reopening

Thank you to all who joined us for our grand reopening on Monday, July 3rd. A special thank you to the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry for the color guard procession, trumpeters Nozomi Imamura and Will Gregory, and the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution for the stunning flag installation. Also, thank you to our wonderful guest speakers: Interim Superintendent of Independence National Historical Park Amnesty Kochanowski, U.S. Congressman Brendan Boyle, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia Angela Val, Philadelphia City Representative Sheila Hess, and Immediate Past President and Trustee of the Carpenters’ Company Tom Daley.

See some great photos below!