September 1774: The Meeting Place

Here are some things you should know about Carpenters’ Hall.

It was designed by a Scotsman. Robert Smith was born in Midlothian in 1722 to a family of masons. He apprenticed in the building trades. In 1748 he emigrated to Philadelphia and joined the Carpenters’ Company, which is the oldest extant craft guild in the United States. Smith rose to become the most noteworthy architect in the colonies; he designed Nassau Hall in Princeton, the steeple of Christ Church in Philadelphia, and the city hospital in Williamsburg. All of which made him a model of a discontented American: English-born and fully entitled to the “rights of Englishmen,” but living and laboring in the colonies without any representation in his native country.

It is a beautiful example of Georgian design. Carpenter’s Hall is a simple, two-story, 50-foot square, with 10-foot cutouts at the corners, giving it perfect symmetry and proportion. There are classical features like the pediment and columns framing the front door, and the arches over the large front windows. And the whole thing is capped by a cupola and finial displaying Masonic symbols. The irony of all this, of course, is that a magnificent building that will become a symbol of protest against a king named George is built in a style named for the kings named George.

It was built to last. The foundation is constructed of chunks of rubble bound together with mortar. The weight of the building is transferred down through the exterior walls, which are made of brick and are 13 inches thick. To give the walls extra stability, special black-colored bricks called “headers” were turned on end and tie adjacent courses of bricks together so they won’t split apart over time. Thus, the unique integration of different pieces in an innovative way makes the building strikingly beautiful, and remarkably durable.

It was built to hold big meetings. In order to create a grand first floor without internal walls or supports, the builders had to incorporate huge girders to hold it up. No mill of the day was capable of producing such things, so two 45-foot timbers of Eastern White Pine – the same species that produced masts for the Royal Navy’s ships – were hewed by hand with adzes. To provide maximum support, the two beams were reversed, with the fat end of one beam laying parallel to the tapering end of its partner. As a result, all the intermediate joists are a unique size and had to be hand-crafted by apprentices. The building is a miracle of nature, and a product of toil and detailed craftsmanship.

It was successful. Carpenters’ Hall opened in 1771 and was used each year for the guild’s annual meetings. But it was also made available for third-party meetings, and it quickly became the most popular rental hall in Philadelphia. Beginning in 1773, the second floor was home to Ben Franklin’s Library Company, the public library of the city. In 1774, in the wake of the Tea Party and the imposition of the Intolerable Acts, members of the Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence used it to meet and discuss what they should do to support their colleagues in Boston.

250 years ago this week, 56 delegates who had traveled to Philadelphia from 12 of the 13 colonies met for breakfast at City Tavern. They shook hands, made introductions, and took each others’ measure. Then they picked up their things and walked together, down to the handsome new meeting hall on Chestnut Street. They went in through the front door, settled themselves in, and took their seats.

And when they were called to order, around noon on September 5, 1774, Carpenter’s Hall became the official home of the First Continental Congress of what would become the United States. ?