It is difficult for modern students to grasp the intimacy of colonial towns of British America. In 1774 Philadelphia was the most properous and populous town in North America. The city was chosen more for its location in a middle colony and the accommodations for delegates that it could offer than for its uncertain commitment to Whig principles. However, the congress made a Whig political statement by chosing to meet at Carpenter's Hall--the hall recently built by the Carpenter's Company--instead of the much grander State House (#9) offered by the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assemby, Joseph Galloway. (See Protocols of Liberty, 205-208) Carpenter's Hall, which is not shown on this map, is between Chestnut and Walnut Streets and 3rd and 4th Street (just east of #10, the Friends School House, on the map). It was conveniently close to the City Tavern (not shown -- on the same block on Front Street), the four main places of worship (#11, #14, #17, and #21), and the houses where delegates were staying.

More removed from the bustle of Chestnut Street than the State House, Carpenter's Hall offered privacy that the Congress desired for the deliberations that each member was required to vow to keep secret. The plan of Carpenter's Hall shows that it is laid out in the central style of a Greek Cross, used by Renaissance architects to orient worshipers in unity toward God. The greatest political challenge of the First Continental Congress was political unity. In the 18th century the Queen Anne style building was divided into two intimate rooms, the east one (left in this blue print) was used for meetings of the whole congress while the second the room on the west (right) could be used by large committees of the congress.