What building is now called Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted?

The building now called Independence Hall was known in 1776 as the Pennsylvania State House.

Located in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania State House housed Pennsylvania’s colonial legislature before becoming a major meeting place for the Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress met there when it adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Constitutional Convention also met in the same building in 1787.

The structure acquired the name Independence Hall in the nineteenth century, reflecting its association with the Declaration and the Constitution. This creates a frequent historical mix-up: Independence Hall is the modern name, while Pennsylvania State House is the period name relevant to the Declaration’s adoption.

The building is part of Independence National Historical Park and is recognized as a World Heritage Site. Its Assembly Room contains the chair used by George Washington while he presided over the Constitutional Convention, making the site central to both the Revolutionary founding and the creation of the federal government.