Editing Graff House (section)

== Original Building ==

The original Graff House stood for over a century after its brush with history, though few Philadelphians were aware of its significance. Jefferson himself returned to the house in 1783 and was distressed to find it much altered, with a shop occupying the first floor. The building's historical importance was not widely recognized until later in the 19th century, and by then commercial development had transformed the surrounding neighborhood. In 1883, the Penn National Bank demolished the Graff House to expand its operations, an act of destruction that provoked outrage from those who valued the site's historical associations. The bank placed a commemorative plaque on its building, but the original structure was lost forever.<ref name="mires">{{cite book |last=Mires |first=Charlene |title=Independence Hall in American Memory |year=2002 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

Efforts to commemorate the site continued throughout the 20th century. In 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution installed a bronze statue of Jefferson on the sidewalk where the house had stood. As Independence National Historical Park took shape in the 1950s and 1960s, proposals emerged to reconstruct the Graff House as part of the park's interpretation of Revolutionary-era Philadelphia. The project gained momentum as the Bicentennial approached, and the National Park Service undertook a careful reconstruction based on historical research, archaeological investigation, and period building practices. The reconstructed house opened in 1975, returning Jefferson's lodgings to their approximate original location.<ref name="nps"/>