Where did the 1787 Constitutional Convention meet?

The 1787 Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia.

Delegates gathered at the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall, from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The meeting was originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates eventually drafted an entirely new Constitution. George Washington presided, and the document was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates who attended.

Philadelphia was already central to the independence movement: the Second Continental Congress had adopted the Declaration of Independence there in 1776, and the Articles of Confederation had been debated there. The convention’s location therefore connected the new constitutional project with earlier revolutionary institutions. The Constitution was signed on September 17 and sent to the states for ratification.

Philadelphia was not the permanent national capital under the Constitution. Congress later met in New York City and then Philadelphia before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1800. Keeping these locations distinct prevents confusion between the convention, the first federal government, and the later capital city during America’s 250th anniversary.