Independence Hall, Philadelphia: Why It Is a World Heritage Site

Few places stand for individual freedom as powerfully as Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — for Americans and for people around the world. Here the idea of a free country of independent citizens became real, and a system of self-government was born that remains a model in many parts of the world.

Why it is on the World Heritage List

Independence Hall is a World Heritage Site not for its architecture but for the documents of fundamental importance to American history that were drafted and debated inside it: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

• They were written for national purposes, yet they give voice to universal principles — humanity's hopes for justice and freedom.
• For more than two centuries they have inspired political thinkers and influenced lawmakers and politicians around the world.
• Visitors come from every state and almost every country for the events of those years and the buildings and objects tied to them. The place is a reminder that the nation was made by imperfect people who rose above their faults to create a lasting democracy — the oldest in the world, in the Park Service's words, and a model for free people everywhere.

The Assembly Room. Courtesy Independence National Historical Park.

The building

• Designed by Andrew Hamilton with the master builder Edmund Woolley, to house the colonial Assembly of Pennsylvania; finished in 1753.
• A modest brick building with a steeple meant to hold a 2,080-pound bell. That bell — now the Liberty Bell — has cracked twice, and stands silent at ground level in a special shelter. The bell in the tower today was given to the City of Philadelphia for America's Centennial.
• Restorations include one by the architect John Haviland in 1830, and one by a National Park Service committee in 1950 that returned the building to its 1776 appearance.

The park

Independence Hall is part of Independence National Historical Park in downtown Philadelphia, at 520 Chestnut Street. The park tells the story of the events and the diverse people of Philadelphia in the years the city was the nation's capital, 1790 to 1800.

• About 20 buildings — historic, reconstructed and modern — are open to the public.
• One section, where Benjamin Franklin's home once stood, is devoted to his life and accomplishments.
• Congress Hall is where the Bill of Rights was adopted and John Adams was inaugurated as the second president, in a peaceful transfer of power.
• The park's Visitor Center.

The National Register of Historic Places file: text and photos. More World Heritage Sites: Travel World Heritage Sites.

Sources

Based on "Independence Hall: World Heritage Site," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source calls Woolley a "master building"; "master builder" is meant. Its exterior photograph, credited to a named photographer, is not reproduced.