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Backgrounder
Centuries After The Nation’s Founding, Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park Continues to Evolve Thanks To $300 Million Transformation
Press Release
BACKGROUNDER
Centuries After The Nation’s Founding, Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park Continues to Evolve Thanks To $300 Million Transformation
PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2008 - Long regarded as the birthplace of American democracy, Historic Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park (INHP) has been the site of many of the seminal events that carried the nation through its founding as a global leader of democratic ideals. But the Park hasn’t remained static in the nearly two-and-a-half centuries since the Declaration of Independence was signed there on July 4, 1776. Instead, it has grown and progressed with the times, emerging in the early 21st century as a living model on history for the generations who come to experience it.  Independence Hall Photo by J. Smith for GPTMC
The four blocks between Walnut and Arch Streets and 5th and 6th Streets, known as Independence Mall, have served as a central gathering place for influential politicians since the mid-18th century. But unlike today’s governmental compounds, these leaders also lived and socialized on the Mall, making it one of the city’s first focal points for residential and commercial development. For instance, throughout parts of the 18th century, while the Articles of Confederation (1781), the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the U.S. Constitution (1787) were being created inside Independence Hall, Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived at 190 High Street, now the 500 block of Market Street. Just two blocks north, “Block Three” bustled with a community of vendors, artisans, shopkeepers and free black families. It was in this neighborhood that James Oronoko Dexter held the first organizational meeting for the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas at his home in 1792. The first Free Quaker Meeting House was also built here in 1784 as a place of worship for Quakers who had been “read out” of the religion, many for disregarding its pacifist obligations and taking up arms in the Revolution.
But much of this activity would not have taken place on Independence Mall were it not for the construction of the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania (1732-1756). Throughout its life as an operating government building, Independence Hall hosted historical milestones such as meetings of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 until 1783 (with the exception of 1777-1778 when Philadelphia was occupied by British forces); the appointment of George Washington as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775; and the agreement over the design of the American flag in 1777. Thanks to Philadelphia’s growing reputation, the city served as the temporary capital of the young country from 1790 until 1800.
Spread the Word:
Perhaps in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin’s prowess as a Philadelphia-based printer, the Independence Mall neighborhood fulfilled many of the nation’s educational and literary needs throughout the mid-19th and 20th centuries, establishing itself as the center of the publishing industry.
Independence Lives On:
As early as 1819, citizens of Philadelphia started focusing on the preservation of Independence Hall for posterity. By the mid-20th century, three separate entities were created to protect and dignify the Hall and its environs. First, the local Independence Hall Association was founded, followed by the designation of the three blocks north of Independence Hall as INHP, a unit of the National Park Service. In 1946, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Martin approved $3 million for the acquisition and demolition of any structures on the Mall that detracted from its historic legacy. Thanks in part to the creation of the national park, a partnership of city, state and federal officials got that process underway in 1950, and over the next 17 years, Independence Mall took shape in the form it would keep until the close of the century. This Mall project was considered part of a larger redevelopment plan for Philadelphia.
The Recent Years:
In 1976, Philadelphia celebrated the Bicentennial in grand fashion and marked the event with the opening of two cultural museums near the Mall: The African American Museum in Philadelphia and the National Museum of American Jewish History. The Constitution’s 200th birthday 11 years later presented another cause for celebration. This year also marked the beginning of a campaign to establish a memorial honoring the Constitution that would be built with rocks collected from every state in the Union. Although the “Rocks Across America” initiative lost momentum the following year, its short life helped inspire the idea for the National Constitution Center.
In between the two bicentennials, INHP officials determined it was time, once again, to modernize Independence Mall and devised a 10-year General Management Plan, which they implemented in 1998. As a result of the design plan, $300 million worth of improvements have come to the Mall in the form of major landscaping work and the addition of several impressive facilities.
The first significant change came in 2001 with the opening of the Independence Visitor Center, a user-friendly information center designed to provide an informative gateway to the Mall, the city and beyond. In October 2003, the Liberty Bell was very carefully walked across the Mall to its new home at the interactive Liberty Bell Center, a structure that showcases the Bell against the backdrop of Independence Hall and helps place the Bell in its historic and symbolic context. That year also saw the opening of the $140 million National Constitution Center, a state-of-the-art museum devoted to the study of the U.S. Constitution. In subsequent years, the newly developed Once Upon A Nation organization introduced storytelling benches where historical re-enactors tell the tales of important and prototypical Philadelphians throughout Historic Philadelphia; began conducting themed bus and walking tours through the area; and reopened historic Franklin Square as a vibrant park that boasts, among other things, an old-fashioned carousel and a miniature golf course.
An archeological dig at the Mall spawned a great deal of interest during the spring and summer of 2007. Archeologists made a series of unexpected findings at the future site of the President’s House Commemorative Site, where Presidents George Washington and John Adams lived from 1790-1800, and where at least nine enslaved Africans, kept by Washington, also lived and worked. The archeologists found a basement below the kitchen where Hercules—an enslaved African who later escaped to freedom—presided as George Washington’s acclaimed chef. The dig also uncovered the foundation from a bow window that is believed to be the prototype for the Oval Office in the Washington, DC White House. And an underground passage from the kitchen to the main house is thought to be one of the many service areas used by the enslaved and servants. The site will debut in 2010 to acknowledge the nation’s former Executive Mansion and to honor the people who lived and worked here.
“America’s story is still unfolding and with these enhancements to Independence National Historical Park, visitors will enjoy a more meaningful interpretation of our shared American heritage in the very type of ‘greene countrie towne’ that William Penn first imagined,” said Cynthia MacLeod, superintendent, INHP.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery.
CONTACT: Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com _ Related RSS Feeds | Topic | XML Feeds | What's New
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