Independence Hall

A visit to Independence Hall in downtown Philadelphia is pretty easy! Aside from the logistics of visiting any Philadelphia attraction, Independence Hall itself is a small building with free guided tours and doesn’t take too long to see.

History of Independence Hall

Independence Hall was finished in 1752 as the Pennsylvania State House. Representatives of the 13 original colonies convened here for the Second Continental Congress from 1775-1783 and later the Constitutional Convention. It was in this building that the founding fathers adopted both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Declaration was read aloud to the public for the first time in what is now Independence Square.

If I remember correctly, one of the tours I’ve taken mentioned that this location was chosen mainly because it was the only building in the new world that could hold everyone at one time!

Building and Layout

Independence Hall is now preserved as the center of the Independence National Historical Park. This area stretches four blocks to the National Constitution Center to the north and three and a half blocks to the new Museum of the American Revolution to the east, along with a few outlying historic buildings. I once walked past the house where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on my way to the grocery store. Another time, I went to the movies and found a plaque about the original location of Alexander Hamilton’s house.

Independence Square and Independence Hall take up a city block. Make sure to get your whole-building pictures outside of the fenced-off area of the attraction either before or after your visit. There’s a tall clocktower, and when you enter the building in the front, there’s a pretty blue room with stairs to the tower. Then a central vestibule opens onto two side rooms. One side is a 1700’s-era courtroom complete with a caged witness stand.

And on the other side is the assembly room where the Declaration and Constitution were signed. You can see the chair that Washington sat in with the sun motif on the back. Ben Franklin said he often wondered during the deliberations of the continental congress if that sun was rising or setting on their new republic. Small pipes, canes, books, and quills are laid out on the tables as if the founding fathers just happened to leave the room when you came in.

Outside, arched colonnades attach to east and west wings that contain exhibit halls. Additional buildings flank either side in Federal-style symmetry. On one side is the original City Hall and Supreme Court Chambers and on the other is the original Congress Hall.

Touring Independence Hall

When you visit Independence Hall, you enter from the Chestnut Street/Liberty Bell side, near the east wing. There’s a security screening process, so your bags, coats, and phones all go on a conveyor belt while you walk through a metal detector. It’s a tight space and not a lot of room to unpack and repack, so try to come prepared. Then you line up again at the front of Independence Hall itself. It’s about a 15-20 minute tour and one tour is usually finishing up in the assembly room when the next group comes in.

The tour is a good chat from the rangers and very kid-friendly. Once you visit the assembly room, you pop out the back and can visit other buildings, if they are open, or walk across the street to the Liberty Bell Center.

During my tour, only Congress Hall was open, so you can see where the Representatives met downstairs and see pictures of the smaller senate chamber upstairs. I arrived at opening on a Saturday in February, when timed tickets weren’t required. And even though I arrived at 9 am, it was 9:45 before I got inside, between the security check and the morning crowd. For most of the year, a visit will require timed-entry tickets.

Hours

As part of a national historic site, admission to Independence Hall is free for everyone and is open every day from 9 am-5 pm, except for Christmas Day. Getting a timed reservation does cost $1 per person, however. And they can be hard to snag – looking right now, there aren’t many tickets available for the rest of this week. There are only 40 tickets available per time slot to begin with, and then they release an additional 15 tickets at 5 pm the day before. So unless you’re booking for weeks or months ahead, the 5:00 drop might be the best time to snag tickets for your party.

Parking and Amenities

Your biggest expense in visiting any of the Independence Park attractions is parking in downtown Philadelphia! There’s an underground parking garage under the Independence Visitor Center a block away, and it has about as good rates as anywhere. Otherwise, there are several other lots in the area and metered street parking.

There are no bathrooms in Independence Hall, but there are in the Visitor Center. Plus, it’s a good place to start for maps and brochures, or if you have any questions. There’s even a small theater with a national parks movie about the area, so it’s a good place to start your visit in general. I was able to get a bus pass at this location as well.

There are plenty of restaurants and food available in the immediate walkable area. The Bourse is a food hall right across from the Liberty Bell Center, and Chinatown and the Reading Terminal Market is a 15-minute walk west on 11th or Arch Streets. There’s even a Wawa not too far away for a cheap hoagie and snacks.