National Constitution Center, Philadelphia

One of the first places we visited in Philadelphia was the National Constitution Center at the north end of Independence Park. The exterior is fairly modern-looking which fits with the high tech exhibits inside.

Approaching from the north

National Constitution Center entrance

The center features a two-story lobby with flags from all of the states and territories that make up the United States of America.

Grand Hall Lobby

View from upstairs

A theater-in-the-round presentation covers the history of the American Constitution from the American War for Independence through the failure of the Articles of Confederation to the hard debates at the Constitutional Convention (held here in Philadelphia). One employee narrated the seventeen-minute multimedia presentation. The story continued through the Bill of Rights and many of the more famous amendments to the Constitution.

After learning the history of the Constitution, we walked through the upstairs exhibits describing American history after the constitutional convention and the impact of the Constitution on our government. 

Models of the homes of the three branches of government

One exhibit wasn't there!

Cute sign

Just beyond was an interactive area about the president, including the chance to be sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

If elected, I will not be happy

I guess if I don't swear in, I'm not the prez

The first female president!

The TV coverage, so you know it's true

The below exhibit shows that paperwork involved as a court case moves from local courts (on the right) on up to the Supreme Court. Our legal system is a tree killer!

Read it right to left

If that wasn't bad enough, a lawyer donated his set of reference books for another dramatic example of how much recording goes on in our legal system.

Do not lean on this exhibit

Another exhibit has Ben Stein explaining various issues and odd situations that arise in our legal system.

Ben Stein on government

The abortion controversy acknowledged

A sculpture depicts Eisenhower's interstate project.

Learning about the roads that got us here

The most fun part of the center is the Signers' Hall, with thirty-nine life-size bronze statues of the men who met and drafted the Constitution.

Ben Franklin

My son confabbing with Maryland delegates

Considerations

At one table, visitors can sign the Constitution.

Adding their John Hancocks

George Washington with my wife

Hamilton and me

A "no photography" display area has one of the two hundred copies of the Declaration of Independence made for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing. 

On our way out, we had a good view of the building where the Declaration and the Constitution were worked out.

View to Independence Hall

Cheesy Frame where my kids blocked out the historic building

Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia

Independence National Historical Park is the home of two famous icons of the United States of America: Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It also encompasses some other historic buildings in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The star of the park is Independence Hall.

Independence Hall

The building was originally the State House for Pennsylvania and construction was completed in 1753. The view above is actually the back of the building, though that side faces a long grassy mall so it gets a lot more photographic attention. The front has the clock tower where the Liberty Bell originally hung.

Front entrance

The building is mostly original, but they are always doing work on some part to spruce it up. 

Didn't go there

Inside on the main floor, visitors see two rooms. The first is the Court Room of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Like courts today, there's an elevated area for the judge to sit, tables for the defense and the prosecution, and a court recorder's table. 

Court room

Some details

Above the judge is a statue of justice and the seal of the colony.

Signs of authority

Across the hall is the Assembly Room where the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution was hammered out in 1787. The Parks Department has left it decorated like it was in the 18th century.

Assembly Room

The head table is where George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention. The chair is his original chair.

Head table for the head man

Ben Franklin saw the detail of a sun looking over a horizon and wondered if it was a setting sun or a rising sun. When the Constitution was finalized, he said it was definitely a sun rising on a new country.

George Washington's chair

The upstairs exhibits were closed.

Philosophical Hall, just outside the main building, is a museum now but it was not open when we visited (curse you, Covid!).

Philosophical Hall

Wing of Independence Hall

Congress Hall was where the House and Senate met while the federal government was in Philadelphia. It has copies of the Declaration and the Constitution, but like Philosophical Hall, was closed to visitors.

Congress Hall just past the wing

At the back of the building is a statue of George Washington looking down the mall.

Washington statue

Nearby are two plaques in the ground commemorating the visits of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy to Independence Hall.

Lincoln tablet

JFK tablet

Nearby is the Liberty Bell Center which has a long hall of historical information to get through before the bell itself can be seen.

Schema of the bell

Promotional materials

The Bell made out of people!

Many famous people came to see the Bell. 

Chief Little Bear of the Blackfeet Tribe, 1915

Martin Luther King, Jr., and Emmanuel Wright, 1959

The museum also displays tchotchkes sold by enterprising locals.

Take home something to remember the trip!

Finally, the Bell is visible, but the lighting was not good in the mid-morning.

Liberty Bell

Slightly better lighting

Next to the center is an open-air recreation of the first building where the presidents lived (Washington and John Adams).

President's House

Info on the executive branch

The living room area

The kitchen

The exhibit focuses on the government and discusses various issues around the slave trade. Washington had nine slaves here and their stories are told along with his. The site has ongoing archeology.

Finding out more about the past

Across the street is a statue dedicated to Religious Liberty.

Religious Liberty statue

Ben Franklin's original American Philosophical Society met in a building just across from Philosophical Hall. This building was constructed in the 1950s following the 1789 original and featured prominently in our ghost tour. 

The other Philosophical Hall!