Old City Hall (Philadelphia)

Old City Hall
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Old City Hall in Philadelphia, 2011
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Location	Chestnut Street at 5th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	39°56′52″N 75°8′53″W
Built	1790–91[1]
Architect	David Evans, Jr.[2]
Architectural style	Federal
Part of	Independence National Historical Park (ID66000683[3])
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

Old City Hall, located at Chestnut and 5th Streets in the Independence Hall complex of Independence National Historical Park in Center City Philadelphia, was built in 1790–91 in the Federal style. The architect was David Evans, Jr.^[2]

Originally intended as Philadelphia's City Hall, it housed the U.S. Supreme Court from the completion of its construction in 1791 until 1800, when the national capital was moved to Washington, D.C. Three chief justices, John Jay (Jay Court), John Rutledge (Rutledge Court), and Oliver Ellsworth (Ellsworth Court), officiated the Supreme Court from this location.

After the national capital moved to Washington, D.C., the building continued to serve as Philadelphia's City Hall until 1854. It is a contributing property to Independence National Historical Park and is owned by the City of Philadelphia, which leases the building to the National Park Service.^[4]

See also

• Philadelphia portal

References

1. Gallery, John Andrew, ed. (2004), Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.), Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture, ISBN 0962290815, pp. 30−31
2. Teitelman, Edward & Longstreth, Richard W. (1981), Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, ISBN 0262700212, p. 30
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
4. Independence Hall (at "Independence Hall's History"). World Heritage Sites official webpage. World Heritage Committee. Retrieved 2010-03-16.

External links

• Old City Hall - Independence National Historical Park (Official Website)
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1432, "Philadelphia City Hall", 6 photos, 1 color transparency, 2 measured drawings, 5 data pages, 2 photo caption pages, supplemental material