Customer Reviews

The Face of America: Birthplace of a Nation. Hidden in the shadows of Philadelphia's downtown jumble for most of its 187 years, Carpenters' Hall, handsome little shrine of American liberty, now emerges into sunlight. Here delegates to the First Continental Congress - Washington, Patrick Henry and the Adamses among them - met in 1774 to voice protest against oppression by the British crown. But as the city grew, taller buildings rose to hide the Hall in urban gloom. Today, the Federal Government has created Independence National Historical Park, to contain Carpenters' Hall, nearby Independence Hall and a score of other buildings. Inside this area, structures without historical significance are being torn down. In other times, treasures of the past have been razed to make room for more mundane buildings. In Philadelphia today, the process is being reversed. Photograph by Frank Ross. ..... 1957 Saturday Evening Post Picture, A5215A.