Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A view of Carpenters Court, in front
of Carpenters' Hall

Carpenters' Hall is a historic landmark in Philadelphia, about a block away from Independence Hall.  It was the site of the First Continental Congress in 1774, and also it was where Franklin installed his Library Company. It is open to the public and FREE since 1857 when it was the first private US building open as a historic monument.  Carpenters' Hall was built in 1770 by a Scots architect, Robert Smith, with advice from Benjamin Franklin on fireproofing the building, which would become a library. 

The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies used Carpenters Hall as their first meeting house in 1774.  The hall served as a hospital for British and American soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  Many organizations have used this building including Franklin's Library Company, the American Philosophical Society, and the First and Second Banks of the United States. 

This building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. 

The weathervane is a simple gilded banner style vane, with a Masonic symbol as a finial on top of a cupola. The Carpenters Company was made up of many master craftsmen members who were part of the Masonic fraternity, as well as many members of the Continental Congress. It is possible that the Masons met inside this hall, too, at some point in history. 

According to the official website of the Carpenters Company, the building was originally very plain, with unfinished brickwork, but the cupola, ball and weathervane were original to 1774.  The brickwork was not finished until 17 years later, after the war.  [ https://www.carpentershall.org/architectural-history ]

For the Truly Curious:

Carpenters Hall Company:    https://www.carpentershall.org/  

Carpenters Hall at Wikipedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenters%27_Hall#:~:text=The%20First%20Continental%20Congress%20of,moderate%20Provincial%20Assembly%20of%20Pennsylvania  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 25, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/09/carpenters-hall-philadelphia-for.html: [accessed] access date.)