What building, now called Independence Hall, hosted the congressional debates behind America250’s 1776 milestone?

The Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, hosted the congressional debates behind America250’s 1776 milestone.

The building was completed in Philadelphia in 1753 as the seat of Pennsylvania’s colonial government. The Second Continental Congress used its Assembly Room when it debated and adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The same room later hosted the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

After the American Revolution, the building’s historical importance became central to the national memory of independence and constitutional government. Its familiar name, Independence Hall, reflects the events of 1776, although Pennsylvania State House was its original official name.

The Old State House in Boston and Federal Hall in New York are also important early American government buildings, but they are different sites. Independence Hall is in Independence National Historical Park and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its surviving Assembly Room is one of the most closely associated places in the America250 story.