Carpenters Hall
Carpenters Hall
Carpenters' Hall had just been completed in September 1774 it was host to the First Continental Congress which met to oppose British rule and laid the foundation for the American Revolution!
The man who designed Carpenter's Hall was a master builder in his time. When Benjamin Franklin needed an architect to build his house, he turned to master builder Robert Smith of the Carpenters' Company. Smith not only belonged to the Carpenters' Company.
In 1724, the Carpenters' Company was founded to share information about the art of building, determine the value of completed work, so men of the trade could hone their architectural skills, and ultimately help indigent craftsmen earn a living at their chosen trade. Interestingly, the Carpenters' Company has held regular meetings for over 275 years, making it the oldest trade guild in the country.
In order to be a member of the Carpenters of the Colonial Era, you had to be not only a talented builder, but an architects as well. The Company published a book of rules and prices and architectural designs called Articles and Rules in 1786. Only members of the Carpenters' Company were allowed to see the book. If a Carpenter showed it to an outsider, he would face expulsion from the group. It's been said that Thomas Jefferson, the ex-President, was rebuffed in his attempt to obtain a copy of the book in 1817.
In 1857, the Carpenters' Company chose to restore and preserve this building as a historic landmark to show future generations of builders and architechts where the roots of their trade were laid. In 1955, the Independence Hall National Historical Park was making plans to restore and rebuild the area around Carpenters' Hall. In a recent excavation, a pipe tamper (used by 18th century smokers)with a very adult design was found and is on display with some of the other artifacts.
Make this Hall of rich history a stop on your tour of Philadelphia!
