Independence National Historical Park is an area of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that is partially owned by the city but operated by the U.S. National Park Service. It covers 45 acres (18 hectares) and contains a number of historic structures associated with the American Revolution and the founding of the country. Most notable is Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were deliberated and signed. Some other buildings associated with the colonial period, but located elsewhere in the city, are also part of the park.
The bulk of the park consists of an L-shaped strip of land. Independence Square forms the bottom corner of the “L.” The main building on the square is Independence Hall, designated a World Heritage site in 1979. Congress Hall is immediately to the west. The U.S. Congress met there from 1790 to 1800 when Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. Philosophical Hall and Old City Hall are directly to the east of Independence Hall. Philosophical Hall is home of the American Philosophical Society, a scholarly society that Benjamin Franklin founded in 1743. Old City Hall was the home of the U.S. Supreme Court until 1800.
To the north of Independence Square, representing the long back part of the “L,” is a three-block section called Independence Mall. It contains the Liberty Bell Center, where the famous bell is housed. A number of important structures also occupy the bottom line of the “L,” which spreads to the east of Independence Square. The First Bank of the United States was operated from 1797 to 1811, and the Second Bank of the United States is now a portrait gallery. In between those two buildings sits Carpenters’ Hall, which was the meeting place of the First Continental Congress. Franklin Court, just to the northeast of the square, is the site where Benjamin Franklin’s house once stood.
Independence National Historical Park was authorized in 1948. Two years later the National Park Service began administering the site. The park was officially established in 1956.