Pennsylvania Hall
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Built on this site in 1838 by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society as a meeting place for abolitionists, this hall was burned to the ground by anti-Black rioters three days after it was first opened.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Built in 1838 by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, Pennsylvania Hall was meant to be a grand meeting place where abolitionists could gather freely in a city long divided over slavery. Just three days after its opening, an anti-Black mob set the building ablaze and burned it to the ground while authorities stood by. The attack laid bare the fierce hostility abolitionists faced even in the North.
Why it matters
The hall's swift destruction became a national symbol of mob violence against the antislavery cause and the perils free speech faced in antebellum America.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- National Constitution Centernearby · 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.1 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center0.2 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Museum of Illusions Philadelphia0.3 mi away · 401 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History0.3 mi away · 101 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.3 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
Attractions
- U.S. Mint at Philadelphia Tour0.1 mi away
- Benjamin Franklin Grave0.1 mi away
- President's House0.3 mi away
- Liberty Bell0.3 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.3 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- Second Bank of the United States0.4 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Independence Mall Cafe0.2 mi away · 50 North Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
- La Colombe Coffee Roasters0.2 mi away
- Dunkin'0.3 mi away · 634 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Bubble Tea Room0.3 mi away · 319 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Burger King0.3 mi away
- 3J's Cafe0.3 mi away · 317 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District0.2 mi away · 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.4 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Clarion Suites Philadelphia0.4 mi away · 1010 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Sleep Inn Center City0.4 mi away · 1020 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Philadelphia House0.4 mi away · 17 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotel0.4 mi away · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
In 1833, Quaker reformer Lucretia Mott helped organize this society of some sixty women dedicated to ending slavery, headquartered on this spot. Barred from full participation in male-led abolition groups, these women built their own influential organization, raising funds and rallying support for emancipation. After the Civil War, they turned their energies to aiding the newly freed, extending their reform work into a new era.
Joseph and Amy Cassey (1789-1848)/(1809-56)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2009
In the decades before the Civil War, Philadelphia was home to a thriving community of free Black Americans who built their own institutions of self-help and reform. Joseph Cassey, a prosperous barber and real-estate dealer, extended rentals and loans to Black and white customers alike, while he and his wife Amy founded benevolent and intellectual societies. Amy Cassey was also active in the Female Anti-Slavery Society, part of a network of women driving the abolitionist cause.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2026
Traced to legislation passed by Pennsylvania's colonial assembly in 1684, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania stands as the oldest appellate court in the nation. Over the centuries it handed down influential rulings touching the abolition of slavery, the rights of labor, and the rights of women. Its structure and reasoning became a model that federal and other state courts would follow.
Pennsylvania Abolition Society
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
In 1775, as revolutionary fervor stirred Philadelphia, reformers founded an organization to defend free Black people who were being unlawfully seized and sold into bondage. Reorganized in 1787 as the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, it broadened its mission to press for education, employment, and opportunity for Black Americans. It became one of the earliest and most influential antislavery bodies in the young nation, counting figures like Benjamin Franklin among its supporters.