What was the first location to host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia?

The first Philadelphia public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in the Pennsylvania State House yard.

John Nixon read the document there at noon on July 8, 1776. The Pennsylvania State House is now known as Independence Hall, but the reading occurred in its yard rather than inside the legislative chamber.

Philadelphia was one of three places where the first formal public readings occurred simultaneously. The other locations were Trenton, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania. The readings brought Congress’s decision directly to local audiences.

The event is often simplified in retellings as a reading from Independence Hall or as a ringing of the Liberty Bell. The bell is linked to the tradition, but the documented location was the State House yard and the documented reader was John Nixon.