I was so very excited to visit Independence Hall. My family is pretty patriotic and as a kid I remember watching the musical 1776 year after year. Pretty much the entire time we were there, we would spontaneously quote a line from it. Growing up we’d visited a lot of historic sites as a family, but never Philadelphia.
We had tickets to visit Independence Hall at 11:15, so we headed over to see the Liberty Bell first. There wasn’t a line to get in that early so we zipped through the search area and headed inside. Before you get to the actual bell, there are exhibits that give you a quick overview of the history of the bell, including the crack.
The Liberty Bell
From the back
We had some time before we could visit Independence Hall, so we walked over to Carpenter’s Hall.
The First Continental Congress met in Carpenter’s Hall in 1774. It was really an interesting and beautiful building.
Some of the original eighteenth century furnishings.
We wrapped things up at Carpenter’s Hall then headed over to Independence Hall.
The south side of Independence Hall (or the Pennsylvania State House)
The north side
We were able to catch the 11:00 tour with a really great Park Ranger, Jay. There were three very eager kids in our group who really knew their US history and were happy to answer the Ranger’s questions. We started out in the reconstructed East Wing then headed over to the main building.
The first stop was the Supreme Court Room.
Next, the Assembly Room.
It’s pretty amazing to think just how much of our country’s history was shaped in this room. From Washington’s appointment as the commander in chief of the continental army, to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to the drafting of the Constitution. Pretty significant events.
It’s also amazing to me that the building has survived, even through the Revolution when the British occupied Philadelphia.
The tower stair hall. As soon as I saw this (and even looking at it now), I can’t help but think, “We may see murder, yet!”
“Mr. Adams, I say you should write it…”
Next, we stopped by the Great Essentials exhibit in the West Wing to see early copies of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution.
We came across a lot of great quotes in Philadelphia, this was, by far, my favorite.
Next, we went through Congress Hall. Once again, Jay, the Park Ranger, led our group.
The House of Representatives met on the ground floor. It was here that John Adams was sworn in as the second president of the United States of America. I had never really thought of the historical significance of this, but really, nothing like that had ever happened before where a ruling power voluntarily and willingly stepped aside for someone else to lead.
Upstairs, we visited the Senate Chamber.
By this point, we were ready to take a break and grab a bite to eat. We headed over to The Bourse, a late nineteenth century building that’s been converted for retail and office space. There’s a big food court on the main floor.
We got sandwiches and coleslaw from Bain’s. While in line for our food, I felt someone behind me start playing with my hair. I could clearly see Jonathan in front of me and knew that I didn’t know anyone else in Philadelphia. I turned around and the woman who had been twisting my hair gasped and exclaimed, “I thought you were my daughter! I’m SO sorry!” We laughed. I had a good 15 years (probably more!) on her daughter.
Our roast beef sandwiches and coleslaw
After lunch, we headed over to Betsy Ross’ house, walking past Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite on the way.
We opted for the audio tour through the house.
Last Flag Day, we’d read a couple of books about Betsy Ross so it was fun to see the house. I think the kids will enjoy seeing it too when they’re older.
From the Ross house, we continued heading east to Penn’s Landing to look across the Delaware River to New Jersey.
On the way back, we stopped by Christ’s Church.
At the time it was built, this steeple was the tallest building in America.
The interior
George Washington’s pew
Next, we stopped by Franklin Court on Market Street and saw the Printing Office, where we once again saw Park Ranger Jay. He was everywhere.
I thought that this stretch of Market Street gave an interesting glimpse of Philadelphia. On the right side, there’s the Fox TV station, obviously a twentieth century building, then beside it you have eighteenth century buildings, then some nineteenth. Such a historic city, but still very much alive.
It was getting close to 4pm, so we headed back to our hotel so Jonathan could get to his first session. After that, we met up with his co-workers who were also attending the conference to head to dinner at the Victor Café.
The food was great here too, but what made this place so special was the fact that there’s live opera! Every 10 minutes or so, one of the servers would ring a bell, announce what song they were about to sing, then sing it. Such a fun night.
The OUR group.
Thus we wrapped up a very full and wonderful day. At dinner, Betsy asked me what my plans were for the next day. I responded that I was going to try to sleep in. :-)
