Congress Hall

Congress Hall is a historic building located at the corner of 6th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, adjacent to Independence Hall. Built between 1787 and 1789 as the Philadelphia County Courthouse, the building served as the meeting place of the United States Congress from 1790 to 1800, when Philadelphia was the nation's capital. Within its walls, Congress admitted three new states to the Union (Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee), established the First Bank of the United States, created the United States Navy, and passed the Bill of Rights along to the states for ratification. George Washington took his second oath of office here in 1793, and John Adams was inaugurated as the second president in 1797. Congress Hall is part of Independence National Historical Park and is open to visitors free of charge.

Construction and Original Purpose

The building was constructed to serve as the courthouse for Philadelphia County, replacing older facilities that had become inadequate for the growing region. Construction began in 1787 and was completed in 1789, producing a Georgian-style brick building that complemented the adjacent State House (Independence Hall). The architect is unknown, though the design has been attributed to various Philadelphia builders. The building featured courtrooms on the first floor and office space above, with separate entrances for different functions. The timing of its completion proved fortuitous: just as the new federal government needed a meeting place, Philadelphia had a nearly new public building available for use.

When Congress accepted Philadelphia's offer to serve as temporary capital while Washington, D.C., was constructed, the county courthouse was selected to house the legislative branch. The building required modifications to accommodate its new federal tenants: the first floor was converted into a chamber for the House of Representatives, while the second floor became the Senate chamber. The arrangement reflected the relative status of the two chambers in the early republic—the House, with its larger membership, occupied the more spacious ground floor, while the smaller, more elite Senate met upstairs. The county courts relocated to other facilities, and Congress Hall began its decade as the seat of the national legislature.

The Federal Decade

The decade of federal government in Philadelphia (1790-1800) was a formative period in American history, and Congress Hall was at the center of the action. The first Congress to meet in the building, the Second Congress (1791-1793), passed legislation establishing the First Bank of the United States, creating the U.S. Mint (which remains in Philadelphia today), and admitting Vermont as the 14th state. The bitter debates over Alexander Hamilton's financial program—assumption of state debts, creation of the national bank, and imposition of excise taxes—echoed through the chamber, establishing the fault lines of partisan conflict that would crystallize into the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties.

Congress Hall witnessed some of the most contentious political battles of the early republic. The debate over Jay's Treaty with Britain in 1795 provoked intense controversy, with opponents burning effigies of John Jay in the streets while supporters argued the treaty was necessary to preserve peace. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which restricted immigration and criminalized criticism of the government, were passed by a Congress meeting in this building—laws that remain infamous as among the most serious early threats to American civil liberties. The political culture of the 1790s, with its newspaper wars, partisan accusations, and occasional physical altercations, seems remarkably familiar from a modern perspective, and much of it played out within these walls.

Presidential Inaugurations

Two presidential inaugurations occurred in Congress Hall, both in the second-floor Senate chamber. George Washington, having been inaugurated in New York in 1789 for his first term, took his second oath of office in Philadelphia on March 4, 1793. The ceremony was notably brief—Washington delivered the shortest inaugural address in American history (just 135 words) and returned to his residence without elaborate celebration. The simplicity reflected Washington's ambivalence about serving another term and his distaste for monarchical display, but it also established a precedent for relatively modest inaugural ceremonies that persisted for decades.

John Adams was inaugurated as the second president in the same chamber on March 4, 1797, succeeding Washington in the first peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in American history. The ceremony was more elaborate than Washington's second inauguration, with Adams delivering a substantial address and Washington attending as a private citizen to witness his successor take office. This orderly transition established the precedent that American presidents would voluntarily relinquish power at the end of their terms—a practice that seemed unremarkable to Americans but that observers from monarchical Europe found extraordinary. The Senate chamber where these inaugurations occurred has been restored to its 1790s appearance and can be visited today.

Legislative Chambers

The House of Representatives chamber on the first floor accommodated the growing number of representatives as new states joined the Union. The chamber featured a raised speaker's platform, desks arranged in a semicircle facing the speaker, and galleries for public observation. The close quarters and poor acoustics made debate difficult, and the chamber's inadequacy was one factor motivating the construction of more suitable facilities in the new capital. Nevertheless, the chamber witnessed the passage of significant legislation, including the Naturalization Act of 1795, the establishment of the United States Navy in 1794, and numerous appropriations bills funding the operations of the new federal government.

The Senate chamber on the second floor was smaller and more intimate, befitting the body's role as the more deliberative of the two houses. The chamber featured individual desks for each senator, a presiding officer's chair for the vice president, and galleries for visitors. The Senate's proceedings were initially closed to the public—a practice that generated criticism and was eventually abandoned. The chamber has been restored to its 1793 appearance, with reproduction furniture based on historical records and archaeological evidence. The desks, chairs, and other furnishings visible today are replicas, as the original furniture was destroyed when the British burned the Capitol in Washington during the War of 1812.

After the Capital Moved

When the federal government relocated to Washington, D.C., in November 1800, Congress Hall reverted to use by Philadelphia County. The building served various governmental functions throughout the 19th century, including as a courthouse and administrative offices. Like many historic buildings, it suffered from neglect and unsympathetic modifications that altered its original character. By the late 19th century, the building's historical significance was recognized, and efforts began to preserve and restore it. The creation of Independence National Historical Park in 1948 secured Congress Hall's future as a protected historic site.

Restoration of Congress Hall to its 1790s appearance was completed in time for the American Bicentennial in 1976. The project involved removing later additions, reconstructing missing architectural elements, and furnishing the chambers with appropriate reproductions. The Senate chamber restoration benefited from detailed descriptions in period documents and from comparison with other Federal-era public buildings. The House chamber proved more challenging, as fewer records of its appearance survived, but researchers assembled sufficient evidence to create a convincing reconstruction. Today, Congress Hall appears much as it did when the early republic's most consequential legislation was debated and passed within its walls.

Visiting Congress Hall

Congress Hall is open to visitors as part of Independence National Historical Park. Entry is free, and tours are self-guided, though National Park Service rangers are available to answer questions. The building is typically open during the same hours as Independence Hall, though visitors should confirm current schedules before planning a visit. Congress Hall is often less crowded than Independence Hall, offering a more contemplative experience for those interested in the early history of the American government. The building's location immediately adjacent to Independence Hall makes it easy to include on a tour of the park's main sites.

The restored chambers allow visitors to visualize the working conditions of the early federal government—the cramped quarters, limited lighting, and challenging acoustics that representatives and senators endured while shaping the new nation's policies. Standing in the Senate chamber where Washington and Adams were inaugurated, or in the House chamber where Congress debated war and peace, provides a tangible connection to the formative decade when the Constitution was translated from parchment ideals into working government. Congress Hall deserves greater attention than it sometimes receives, overshadowed by its more famous neighbor; for visitors interested in how American government actually functioned in its earliest years, it is an essential stop.

See Also

• Independence Hall
• Philadelphia as National Capital
• Old City
• President's House