Part of the 2026 Winter Speaker Series
via Zoom- Link will be emailed on January 27 at 3pm. Presentation will begin at 6pm
January 27, 2026
The Incubator of the New Nation: The Diverse Tenants of Carpenters' Hall from 1773-1857
presented by Tom Stokes
Part of the 2026 Winter Speaker Series, Building Philadelphia via Zoom.
$10 for Members. Be sure to log in at checkout for the discounted rates.
Carpenters' Hall, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in North America, was designed, constructed, and financed in a group effort by the Carpenters Company of Philadelphia. While its primary purpose was to house the Company (and show off their professional talents), the Hall quickly became a profitable and prestigious rental space. Its most famous occupant, the First Continental Congress, made Carpenters' Hall a shrine of American Independence on par with Independence Hall and Old North Church. Other important chapters in American and Philadelphian history started at Carpenters' Hall including the First and Second U.S. Banks, General Knox's Department of War, The Library Company and The American Philosophical Society. Most deserving of study are the many other smaller and often short-lived institutions and societies founded at Carpenters Hall. This presentation will provide an overview of the utilization of Carpenters' Hall as a rentalable property by highlighting a various array of lesser known organizations and contextualizing them within the new American society and the rapidly growing city of Philadelphia.
Tom Stokes is a historian and researcher for Carpenters' Hall, a museum in Philadelphia and the home of the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia. His other professional areas of focus include the study and preservation of local vernacular architecture, Pennsylvania Dutch cultural history and regenerative farming in Berks County's Oley Valley.
Complementary access available for current students and Art-Reach ACCESS card holders. Email [email protected] with valid student ID or ACCESS card to register.
The presentation link will be emailed to registrants on Tuesday, January 27 at 3pm.
All lectures will be recorded and a replay will be available to registered participants.
