Year: 2019

Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The Liberty Bell, at the base of the tower in Independence Hall, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018, without the Liberty Bell:

Today, the Liberty Bell is one of the most recognizable symbols of American independence and freedom, perhaps only matched by the American flag and the bald eagle. However, this would have seemed a rather implausible outcome for mid-18th century observers, who would have seen it as a poorly-made English import that barely served its purpose as a bell. The original bell arrived in Philadelphia in 1752, and it was to be installed in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), which was then under construction. The first time that it was rung, though, the bell cracked, and in 1753 it was melted down and re-cast by local foundry owners John Pass and John Stow. However, this second bell had a poor sound, so Pass and Stowe again re-cast it, and in 1753 it was hung in the steeple of the State House.

In the early years of the Liberty Bell’s history, Pennsylvania was still a British colony, and the Declaration of Independence was still several decades away. As such, Philadelphians would not have associated the bell with the concept of liberty, although it bore a rather prophetic inscription taken from Leviticus 25:10, which reads, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Instead, the fame of the Liberty Bell comes from the fact that it sat in the steeple of the State House when the Second Continental Congress declared independence in 1776. Despite popular belief,though, this bell did not ring on July 4 to mark the occasion, as the Declaration of Independence was not made public for another four days. The bell likely would have been one of many that were rung in Philadelphia on July 8 in order to celebrate the Declaration, although there is no direct evidence of this.

The Liberty Bell remained in its perch above the building until 1777, when retreating American forces took it down and removed it from the city, in order to prevent the British from seizing it and melting it down for munitions. The bell returned to Philadelphia a year later, although it was not re-installed in the steeple because of the deteriorated condition of the structure. It was put into storage for the next few years, and in 1781 the old steeple was demolished. Then, in 1785, the bell was installed in the truncated brick tower, beneath where the steeple had been.

It was at some point in the early 19th century, probably between 1817 and 1846, that the Liberty Bell cracked again, giving the bell its distinctive present-day appearance. Also during this time, Independence Hall underwent a renovation, with a new steeple built atop the tower in 1828. As part of this project, the city of Philadelphia also ordered a new bell to replace the old Liberty Bell. John Wilbank received the contract to make the new one, and part of his payment was the Liberty Bell itself, which had a scrap value of $400. However, the cost of removing it would have exceeded this amount, so he let the city keep the bell, thus preventing the historic relic from being melted down for scrap.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Liberty Bell was becoming widely recognized for its historic significance. In 1848, it was moved to the Assembly Room of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution had been signed, and it would remain on display there for the next 50 years. Then, in 1898, it was moved to a new location in the building, at the base of the tower, as shown in the first photo. However, during this time the Liberty Bell also went on tour, traveling by rail to various locations around the country. The last of these occurred in 1915, and the practice was subsequently ended, in part because of the many souvenir hunters who chipped off pieces of the bell during these traveling exhibitions.

Aside from these trips, the Liberty Bell was on display here in the tower hall throughout much of the 20th century. As the bell’s fame continued to grow, though, this space became inadequate for the increasing number of visitors who came here. In 1976, in anticipation of the crowds that would come to celebrate America’s bicentennial, it was relocated to the Liberty Bell Pavilion, which was constructed on the Independence Mall on the other side of Chestnut Street, opposite Independence Hall. It remained there for the next 27 years, but in 2003 it moved again, to the new, larger Liberty Bell Center. The bell is still on display there now, with the view of Independence Hall as its backdrop, and it draws an estimated one million visitors each year.

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Independence Hall, seen from the north side across Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, around 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Independence Hall in 2019:

Independence Hall is one of the most important historic sites in the country, having been the place where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed. It served as the de facto capitol building of the United States from 1775 until 1783, but the building predates the American Revolution by several decades. Construction had begun in 1732, coincidentally the same year as George Washington’s birth, although it would be another 21 years before it was finally completed in 1753 as Pennsylvania’s first state house. It was built of brick, with Georgian-style architecture, and it featured the main building in the center, with a clock tower on the south side of it and wings to the east and west.

The Pennsylvania State House, as it was then known, was used by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in the years leading up to the American Revolution, but starting in 1775 it was also put to use as the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, which convened here on May 10 of that year. The war had begun less than a month earlier, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, and one of the early actions taken by the Congress was to create a Continental Army and appoint one of its own members, George Washington, to become commander. However, the Congress also attempted to bring about a reconciliation with Britain, sending the Olive Branch Petition to King George III in July.

Support for independence was by no means universal among the delegates of the Second Continental Congress, and it would take more than a year of war, along with the crown’s rejection of their peace overtures, before they finally agreed to declare independence. The vote on the resolution occurred here on July 2, 1776, and it passed without opposition. Writing to his wife Abigail a day later, John Adams predicted:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Adams would prove correct about everything except for the date. Although the resolution passed on July 2, the actual text of the Declaration was not approved until two days later, so July 4 was ultimately recognized as Independence Day. However, John Trumbull’s famous painting notwithstanding, the document does not appear to have been actually signed on July 4. Historians generally identify August 2 as the date when most delegates signed, although others would add their signatures in the subsequent months, including New Hampshire’s Matthew Thornton, who did not arrive in Philadelphia until November.

The Declaration of Independence asserted the new country’s sovereignty, although it would take another seven years of war before this fact was recognized by the British. Throughout this time, the Continental Congress continued to meet here in Independence Hall, although its stay was interrupted by two British occupations of Philadelphia. Congress evacuated the city in December 1776, returned in March 1777, and left again in September. It would not return here again until July 1778, and during these interim periods it met in Baltimore, Lancaster, and York. It was during its stay in York that the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which would become the first national constitution. However, the Articles required unanimous support, and it did not go into effect until the last state, Maryland, signed the document here in Independence Hall in 1781.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government consisted of a unicameral legislature that is now usually referred to as the Congress of the Confederation. It was the successor to the Continental Congress, and it met here for the next two years. However, in June 1783 Congress was again compelled to evacuate Philadelphia. This time, though, it was not in the face of an invading British army, but rather an angry mob of about 400 American soldiers who were demanding payment for their wartime service. Congress had asked for assistance from the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which also met here in this building, but the council refused to call the state’s militia to suppress the riot. As a result, Congress left here on June 21, and reconvened nine days later at Nassau Hall in Princeton.

The Congress of the Confederation would never return to Philadelphia, and instead it met variously in Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York City over the next six years. However, Independence Hall did play one more important role in American government in 1787, when it became the meeting place for the Constitutional Convention. By this point, it had become clear that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate for effectively governing the country, so delegates from 12 states gathered here starting on May 25, with the stated purpose of “revising” the Articles.

It did not take the convention delegates long to realize that they needed to write a new constitution, as opposed to simply revising the existing one, although this prompted significant debate on issues such as how states should be represented in the legislature, and whether slaves should be counted toward a state’s population. The result was a constitution that was filled with compromises, creating a national government that was much stronger than the one under the Articles of Confederation, while at the same time reserving a significant amount of authority to the states. In all, the convention lasted just under four months, and the final document was signed here on September 17, 1787.

The Constitution went into effect in 1789, and a year later the new federal government returned to Philadelphia, where it would remain for the next 10 years before permanently relocating to Washington, D.C. However, instead of using Independence Hall, Congress met in a new building located immediately to the west of here, at the corner of Chestnut and 6th Streets. Around the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court moved into a matching building on the other side of Independence Hall, at the corner of 5th Street.

Philadelphia lost its role as the national capital in 1800, but a year earlier it had also lost the state capital, when the state government moved to Lancaster. This left Independence Hall without any governmental use, although during the early 19th century the second floor housed a natural history museum and portrait gallery that was run by artist Charles Willson Peale. The building’s exterior also changed during this time, starting with the removal of the original wooden steeple in 1781. It had become badly deteriorated by that point, and it was not immediately replaced; instead, the brick tower was topped with a low roof. Another major change came in 1812, when the original wings were demolished and replaced by new buildings along Chestnut Street.

Independence Hall itself also faced potential demolition, but this threat was averted when the city of Philadelphia purchased the property from the state in 1816. Over time, the building came to be known as Independence Hall, rather than the State House, and in 1825 the square on the south side was named Independence Square. Then, in 1828, the exterior was restored with the addition of a new steeple, which was designed by architect William Strickland. It was based on the design of the original one, but it had some differences, including the addition of a clock. Unlike its predecessor, which lasted less than 30 years before rotting away, Strickland’s steeple is still standing atop the tower nearly two centuries later.

During the 19th century, the building came to be recognized as a major symbol of the American Revolution, and over the years both it and the surrounding grounds were the site of countless patriotic events and public demonstrations. Perhaps the first came in 1824, when the Marquis de Lafayette was received here during his farewell tour of America, but subsequent speakers and demonstrators included Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, and various labor unions, all of whom sought to connect their connect their causes to the ideals that the Founding Fathers had expressed here.

By the time the first photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century, the exterior of the building had undergone another change. The 1812 wings were demolished in 1898, and were replaced with replicas of the originals, including the arched brick arcades that connected the wings to the main building. Another change to this scene came in 1869, when a marble statue of George Washington was installed here in front of Independence Hall. It was the work of sculptor Joseph A. Bailly, and it appears in the first photo. However, by the early 20th century it had begun to deteriorate, and in 1910 it was replaced with a bronze copy, which still stands here today.

More than a century after the first photo was taken, the statue remains the only significant change to this scene. Independence Hall remains well-preserved, and it stands as the focal point of the Independence National Historical Park, which was established in 1948. It has also been designated as a National Historic Landmark, and it is one of only 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States. The building is open to the public for guided tours, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the northeast, with over 4 million visitors to the park each year.

Jefferson Memorial, Washington, DC

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The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, on April 12, 1943. Image taken by Ann Rosener, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

The Jefferson Memorial is, along with the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, one of the three major monuments to prominent United States presidents here in Washington, D.C. It was built on the south side of the Tidal Basin, nearly in line with the White House and the Washington Monument, and its construction was championed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who admired Jefferson.

The design of the memorial was the work of noted architect John Russell Pope, who was also responsible for the National Archives building and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. Like these other two buildings, Pope’s designs for the Jefferson Memorial drew heavily from classical architecture, and it features a large columned portico on the front. It bears a particularly strong resemblance to the Pantheon, with its domed rotunda behind the portico.

However, Pope never lived to see the project completed; he died in 1937, two years before the cornerstone was laid. The construction took four years, but it was completed in 1943, in the midst of World War II. The memorial was formally dedicated on April 13, 1943, just one day after the first photo was taken. This was the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth, and the ceremony was attended by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gave the dedication address.

Today, more than 75 years after the first photo was taken, essentially nothing has changed in this scene except for the size of the trees on either side of the memorial. During this time, the only significant change to the memorial has been the 19-foot statue of Jefferson in the center of the rotunda. This statue, which is not visible from this particular angle, was delayed because of wartime shortages of bronze, but it was installed in 1947, and it has stood here ever since, facing across the Tidal Basin in the direction of the White House.

Greenhouse and Slave Quarters, Mount Vernon, Virginia (2)

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Another view of the greenhouse and slave quarters from the Upper Garden of Mount Vernon, around 1910-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

As discussed in the previous post, this building was constructed around 1793, as a combination of slave quarters and a greenhouse. The greenhouse was located in the middle, as seen on the left side of these photos, and there were barracks-style slave quarters on either side, with the women in the foreground, and the men in the distance on the other side of the greenhouse. Together, these quarters housed the majority of the slaves who lived on the mansion house farm of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

In December 1835, a fire started in a defective flue in the greenhouse. It destroyed the greenhouse and the slave quarters, and most of the exotic plants in the greenhouse were lost, either from the fire itself or from the cold December temperatures outside. The building would remain in ruins for many years, until it was finally restored in the 1890s, probably about 15 to 20 years before the first photo was taken.

The building underwent a second reconstruction between 1948 and 1951, restoring it to its late 18th century appearance. As a result, the present-day scene is actually more historically accurate than the first photo, showing how the slave quarters and greenhouse would have looked during Washington’s day. Otherwise, though, this scene has not changed dramatically since the first photo was taken. The formal garden now has fewer hedges than in the first photo, but other features remain today, including the boxwood parterre in the foreground.

Greenhouse and Slave Quarters, Mount Vernon, Virginia

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The greenhouse and slave quarters, seen from the Upper Garden at Mount Vernon, around 1910-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington had 317 slaves who lived on the five farms that comprised the Mount Vernon estate. Of these, around 90 slaves lived at the mansion house, and most of them lived in barracks-style quarters here, adjacent to the flower garden. The building, which was completed around 1793, consisted of the women’s quarters on the left, the men’s quarters on the right, and a greenhouse in the center.

The building, which was euphemistically referred to as the servants’ quarters, stood here until 1835, when it was destroyed in a fire. This fire came at a time when the Washington family was struggling to pay the upkeep of the estate, though, and the building was left as a ruin for many years. Even after the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association acquired the property in 1858, it would take more than three decades before it was restored.

Historian Benson J. Lossing, writing in his 1871 book The Home of Washington, provides the following description of the ruins:

The conservatory was never rebuilt nor the ruins removed. These, now overgrown with vines and shrubs, form a picturesque garden wall, but lose some of their attractiveness to the eye of taste, by the presence of two tall, perpendicular chimneys, which are seen above the shrubbery from every point of view in the garden. These broken walls, too, strike the visitor unpleasantly. They are at the modern carriage entrance to Mount Vernon, and are the first objects associated with Washington that meet the eye on approaching the mansion from the public road.

The greenhouse and slave quarters were ultimately rebuilt in the 1890s, as shown in the first photo, which was taken several decades later. The building subsequently underwent a second reconstruction between 1948 and 1951, restoring the greenhouse to its original appearance. This project was occurring during the same time that the White House was undergoing a major renovation of its own, and many of the bricks that were used to rebuild the greenhouse had been salvaged from the White House. Today, the greenhouse and slave quarters are among the many restored and reconstructed historic buildings on the Mount Vernon estate, and they bear a more historically accurate appearance than they did in the first photo a century ago.

Mount Vernon, Virginia (2)

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Another view of the Mount Vernon mansion, seen from the bowling green on the west side of the house, around the 1860s or 1870s. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The mansion in 2018:

As discussed in the previous post, the Mount Vernon estate had been in the Washington family since 1674, when John Washington acquired the land. However, it was his grandson, Augustine Washington – the father of the future president – who constructed the original section of the mansion here on this site, in 1734. At the time, it was only one story, with a garret for the second floor, and it was comprised of what is now the four windows in the middle of the house.

George Washington’s older half brother, Lawrence Washington, later received the property from their father, and he lived here until his death in 1752. His widow, Anne, subsequently leased Mount Vernon to George Washington, starting in 1754. Four years later, he began the first expansion of the house, adding a full second floor with a garret above it. He gained ownership of the estate when Anne died in 1761, and in 1774 he embarked on an even more ambitious project, with two-story additions on both sides of the house.

The mid-1770s renovations also included two new outbuildings, which were connected to the house by colonnades, as shown in these photos. The building on the right was the kitchen, and it had three rooms on the first floor, along with a loft on the second floor. Like many kitchens of this period, it was separated from the main house as a fire safety measure. The building on the left was known as Servants Hall, and it had a design that matched that of the kitchen.. Although Washington did have slave quarters nearby, none of his slaves lived here. Instead, this building was used to house the servants – both black and white – of visitors to Mount Vernon.

George Washington lived here until his death in 1799, and Martha Washington died in 1802. They had no biological children together, so the estate went to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, who served for many years as a justice on the U. S. Supreme Court. The property was later inherited by Bushrod’s nephew, John Augustine Washington II, and then by John’s son, John Augustine Washington III.

Over the years, these later generations of the Washington family struggled to maintain the expensive estate, and in 1858 John Augustine Washington III sold it to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. Under their ownership, the mansion was restored, and in 1860 it was opened to the public as one of the nation’s first historic tourist destinations. The first photo was probably taken within a decade or two after this, and it shows the house as it would have appeared to a Victorian-era visitor.

Today, some 150 years after this photo was taken, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association continues to operate the property as a museum. The mansion and the two outbuildings that are shown here have been well-maintained throughout this time, and there is hardly any difference between these two photos. Mount Vernon was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960, becoming one of the first places to be recognized as such, and it remains a popular tourist attraction, drawing around a million visitors each year.