Independence National Historical Park Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Philadelphia that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation ' s founding history . Administered by the National Park Service , the park comprises much of the " Old City " ) historic district . The park has been nicknamed " America ' s most historic square mile " because of its abundance of historic landmarks , and the park sites are located within the Old City and Society Hill neighborhoods of Philadelphia . The centerpiece of the park is Independence Hall , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted in the late 18th century . Independence Hall was the principal meetinghouse of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783 and the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787 . Across the street from Independence Hall , the Liberty Bell , an iconic symbol of American independence , is displayed in the Liberty Bell Center . The park contains other historic buildings , such as the First Bank of the United States , the first bank chartered by the United States Congress , and the Second Bank of the United States , which had its charter renewal vetoed by President Andrew Jackson as part of the Bank War . Most of the park ' s historic structures are located in the vicinity of the four landscaped blocks between Chestnut , Walnut , 2nd , and 6th streets . The park also contains Franklin Court , the site of a museum dedicated to Benjamin Franklin and the United States Postal Service Museum . An additional three blocks directly north of Independence Hall , collectively known as Independence Mall , contain the Liberty Bell Center , National Constitution Center , Independence Visitor Center , and the former site of the President ' s House . The park can be reached by taking SEPTA ' s Market - Frankford Line to the 5th street station . Historical context . Continental Congress and the American Revolution . In response to the Intolerable Acts , which had punished Boston for the Boston Tea Party , the First Continental Congress met at Carpenters ' Hall in Philadelphia from September 5 , 1774 to October 26 , 1774 . The convention organized a pact among the colonies to boycott British goods ( the Continental Association ) starting December 1 , 1774 and provided for a Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia . On May 10 , 1775 , the Second Continental Congress assembled at the Pennsylvania State House after the Battles of Lexington and Concord marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War . Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition in July 1775 , which affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated King George III to prevent further conflict . The petition was rejected — in August 1775 , the King ' s Proclamation of Rebellion formally declared the colonies to be in a state of rebellion . In February 1776 , colonists received news that Parliament passed the Prohibitory Act , which established a blockade of American ports and declared American ships to be enemy vessels . Although the measure amounted to a virtual declaration of war by the British , Congress did not have immediate authority to declare independence until each individual colony authorized its delegates to vote for independence . On June 11 , Congress appointed the " Committee of Five , " consisting of John Adams of Massachusetts , Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania , Thomas Jefferson of Virginia , Robert R . Livingston of New York , and Roger Sherman of Connecticut , to draft an official declaration of independence . Congress unanimously adopted its final version of the Declaration on July 4 , marking the formation of the United States of America . Historians believe that the Old State House Bell , now known as the Liberty Bell , was one of the bells rung to mark the reading of the Declaration on July 8 . Philadelphia Convention . After 1781 , the national government operated under the Articles of Confederation , which gave the federal government virtually no power to regulate domestic affairs or raise revenue . At the Annapolis Convention in September 1786 , the delegates asked for a broader meeting to be held the next May in Philadelphia to address the regulation of trade and the structure of the government . This resulted in the Philadelphia Convention , which met from May 14 to September 17 , 1787 at the Pennsylvania State House . The Convention was dominated by controversies and conflicting interests , but the delegates forged a Constitution that has been called a " bundle of compromises " . At the convention , delegate James Madison presented the Virginia Plan , which proposed a national government with three branches with proportional representation . Large states supported this plan , but smaller states feared losing substantial power under the plan . In response , William Paterson designed the New Jersey Plan , which proposed a one - house ( unicameral ) legislature in which each state , regardless of size , would have one vote , as under the Articles of Confederation . Roger Sherman combined the two plans with the Connecticut Compromise , and his measure passed on July 16 , 1787 by seven to six — a margin of one vote . Other contentious issues were slavery and the federal regulation of commerce , which resulted in additional compromises . Seat of the federal government . The Residence Act of 1790 empowered President George Washington to locate a permanent capital along the Potomac River . Robert Morris , a representative from Pennsylvania , convinced Congress to designate Philadelphia as the temporary capital city of the United States federal government . From December 6 , 1790 to May 14 , 1800 , the same block hosted federal , state , county , and city government offices . Congress Hall , which was originally built to serve as the Philadelphia County Courthouse , served as the seat of the United States Congress . The House of Representatives convened on the first floor and the Senate convened on the second floor . During Congress Hall ' s duration as the capitol of the United States , the country admitted three new states : Vermont , Kentucky , and Tennessee ; ratified the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution ; and oversaw the Presidential inaugurations of both George Washington ( his second ) and John Adams . The President ' s House served as the official residence and principal workplace for President George Washington during his two terms , and President John Adams occupied it from March 1797 to May 1800 . At the house , the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and the Alien and Sedition Acts were signed . The Supreme Court met at Old City Hall , where Chief Justices John Jay , John Rutledge , and Oliver Ellsworth presided over eleven docketed cases . While plans for the permanent capital were being developed , Pennsylvania delegates continued to put forth effort to undermine the plan . The city began construction on a massive new Presidential palace on Ninth Street and an expansion to Congress Hall . Regardless of these efforts , the federal government relocated from Philadelphia for the final time on May 14 , 1800 . Usage as a municipal facility . Despite its crucial role in the nation ' s founding , the site served most of its useful life as a municipal facility after the federal government relocated to the District of Columbia . The state government moved to Harrisburg in October 1812 , and since there was little use for the Pennsylvania State House , the State of Pennsylvania considered selling it and dividing the State House Yard into building lots as early as 1802 . The state came close to demolishing the hall in 1816 . By 1818 , the buildings had become surplus state property and were purchased by the City of Philadelphia , which used them uneventfully until late in the nineteenth century when the city government moved into a new city hall . In 1852 , the Liberty Bell was removed from its steeple and put on public display within the " Declaration Chamber " of Independence Hall . Between 1885 and 1915 , the Liberty Bell made seven trips by train to various expositions and celebrations until the city refused further requests . Park history . The district ' s importance had waned with the western movement of City Hall and other institutions , but it remained an active and occupied business center . The first proposal for an Independence Hall park originated in 1915 , when architects Albert Kelsey and D . Knickerbacker Boyd proposed clearing the half - block between Chestnut Street and Ludlow Street in front of Independence Hall . Kelsey and Boyd were motivated by a desire to create a fitting setting for Independence Hall , lessen the fire hazard , reduce congestion , and beautify the entire district . The idea for a park gained momentum in the 1920s and 1930s , with patriotic sentiment accompanying the American Sesqui - Centennial in 1926 . The commencement of World War II led to a heightened sense of patriotism and urgency toward the protection of national monuments . On June 28 , 1948 , Congress passed Public Law 795 , H . R . 5053 to authorize the creation of Independence National Historical Park , and it was formally established on July 4 , 1956 . On March 16 , 1959 , it incorporated the " Old Philadelphia Customs House " ( Second Bank of the United States ) , which had been designated a national historic site on May 26 , 1939 . As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service , the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15 , 1966 . In 1973 , the Pennsylvania legislature voted to transfer the three blocks that compose Independence Mall to the federal government . Independence Hall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on October 24 , 1979 . Management . The National Park Service , a federal agency within the Department of the Interior , is responsible for the park ' s maintenance and preservation . In the 2003 fiscal year , the National Park Service spent approximately US $ 30 . 7 million dollars on the park . Personnel and benefit costs represented about 41 percent of expenditures , and non - recurring construction and investment projects represented about 25 percent of expenditures . The Independence Visitor Center is operated as a joint venture between Independence National Historical Park and the Independence Visitor Center Corporation , a nonprofit organization . The National Park Service employs 247 permanent employees and seven seasonal employees . The park ' s cultural resource management program protects the historic buildings , archaeological sites , and cultural landscapes within the park , and approximately 1 . 5 million artifacts within the park . In 2003 , the park ' s major projects primarily addressed repair and rehabilitation of park buildings and grounds . Independence Mall . Most of INHP ' s buildings and land are contained within the broad plaza called Independence Mall , which is bookended by the National Constitution Center on the north , Independence Hall on the south , and Fifth and Sixth Streets on the east and west , respectively . The Mall was created in the 1950s by city planner Ed Bacon to bring an open space to the heart of historic Philadelphia in front of Independence Hall . Most of the buildings that previously occupied the site of Independence Mall were late nineteenth - century buildings that replaced earlier buildings destroyed by fire in 1851 and 1855 . Proponents of the mall thought these buildings were eyesores because of their contrast with the historic nature of the area . As plans emerged , retailers on Market Street resisted , arguing that the demolition was out - of - scale with the comparatively small landmark at its southern end . By 1959 , when the bulldozers finished work on Independence Mall , only the Free Quaker Meetinghouse remained . The building had been used as a warehouse for plumbing supplies before its restoration as part of the project . In 1961 , the building was moved 38 feet west and 8 feet south to its present location to allow for the widening of Fifth Street . To plan for the celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976 , the NPS relocated the Liberty Bell from Independence Hall to the glass - enclosed Liberty Bell Pavilion , as the Independence Hall could not accommodate the millions expected to visit Philadelphia that year . In 1997 , the NPS announced a plan to redesign Independence Mall . As part of the plan , several new public buildings were constructed . The Independence Visitors Center was opened in November 2001 , the National Constitution Center was opened in July 2003 , and the Liberty Bell , which had been housed in a glass pavilion , was moved into the Liberty Bell Center in October 2003 . Exhibits include coverage of slavery in US history and its abolition . At the corner of 6th and Market Street , a President ' s House memorial outlines the site of the former mansion and commemorates the slaves who worked there . The former building had been demolished in portions starting in 1835 , and its remnants were removed during the creation of Independence Mall . Independence Mall is bordered by the Philadelphia Mint , the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia , the National Museum of American Jewish History , the James A . Byrne Courthouse ( which houses the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ) , and the main studio of WHYY - TV . Other park sites . Features of Independence NHP include : Other NPS sites associated with Independence NHP but not located within its boundaries include :