Condition assessment and structural strengthening ensured Robert Smith’s historic building remains an integral part of Independence National Historical Park.

Constructed from 1770-1773 by the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, the historic 18th century building was central to the founding activities of the new nation. It hosted the First Continental Congress, housed Benjamin Franklin’s Library Company, and been home since 1770 to the nation’s oldest trade guild. Carpenters’ Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

While designed and constructed to the highest standards of the period by early company member Robert Smith, Carpenters’ Hall required supplemental structure in the mid 1980s to accommodate modern occupancy loads and physical changes imposed on the building over time. The primary structural focus of the work was the suspended re-support of the clear-span second floor and the attic/roof structure of the building.

Condition assessment and structural strengthening ensured Robert Smith’s historic building remains an integral part of Independence National Historical Park.

Constructed from 1770-1773 by the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, the historic 18th century building was central to the founding activities of the new nation. It hosted the First Continental Congress, housed Benjamin Franklin’s Library Company, and been home since 1770 to the nation’s oldest trade guild. Carpenters’ Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

While designed and constructed to the highest standards of the period by early company member Robert Smith, Carpenters’ Hall required supplemental structure in the mid 1980s to accommodate modern occupancy loads and physical changes imposed on the building over time. The primary structural focus of the work was the suspended re-support of the clear-span second floor and the attic/roof structure of the building.

CLIENT: Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

TYPE: Cultural, Historic, SERVICES: Condition Assessment, Structural Intervention, MATERIALS: Heavy Timber, Masonry, Steel, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exterior photograph © Jeffrey Totaro