Carpenters' Hall Reopens July 3!

On Monday, July 3 at 10 a.m., Carpenters' Hall opens it doors to visitors for the first time after a comprehensive preservation project and a tragic fire on Christmas Eve. Join us as we celebrate the reopening of this National Historic Landmark, which hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774. The ceremony includes historical re-enactors, and guest speakers, including the Interim Superintendent of Independence National Historical Park Amnesty Kochanowski, Councilmember Mark Squilla, President & CEO of Visit Philadelphia Angela Val, and City Representative Sheila Hess.

Additionally, the ceremony includes an instillation of historic flags by The Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution, a color guard from the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, a performance by Philadelphia trumpeters Nozomi Imamura and William Gregory, and a reading of Francis Hopkinson's 1788 poem “A New Roof: An Ode to Federal Mechanics,” curated by Philadelphia poet and storyteller Quentin Williams. Hopkinson's poem was written in honor of the Grand Federal Edifice, a wooden pavilion designed and built by The Carpenters' Company to symbolize and celebrate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

An inaugural special exhibit, Artifacts & Architecture, featuring antiquities uncovered during the 2022 renovations to the property, will be unveiled during the reopening event. The artifacts were unearthed on-site at Carpenters' Hall by archeologists from infrastructure-consulting firm AECOM. The exhibition also features photographic documentation of the Carpenters' Hall preservation project by Philadelphia architectural photographer Kat Kendon.

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*As voted by readers of Axios Philadelphia, April 2023