Independence Hall replicas and derivatives

Independence Hall replicas are buildings, models and miniatures replicating or inspired by the design of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Independence Hall (1732-1753), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

History

Independence Hall (1732–1753) was built as the State House for the Colony of Pennsylvania. The Second Continental Congress met there from May 1775 to December 1776, from March to September 1777, and from July 1778 to March 1781. The Declaration of Independence was debated and signed in the hall. Congress under the Articles of Confederation met there from March 1781 to June 1783. The Constitutional Convention met there from May to September 1787, where it debated, wrote, and signed the United States Constitution.

Buildings

• Stock Yards National Bank (1925), Chicago, Illinois.[1]
• Reading Hospital (1928), West Reading, Pennsylvania
• Baker Memorial Library (1928), Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, Jens Fredrick Larson, architect.[2]
• Freeport Village Hall (1928), Freeport, New York.
• Henry Ford Museum (1929), Dearborn, Michigan, Robert O. Derrick, architect.
• Liberty Motor Car Company Headquarters (1929), Detroit, Michigan, Robert O. Derrick, architect.[3] In the 1970 and 1980s, it housed offices of Budd-ThyssenKrupp. (Demolished April, 2017)
• Walter F. George School of Law (1932), Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.
• LaGuardia Hall Library (1936), Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York.
• Founders Library, Howard University (1937), Washington, D.C., Albert Cassell, architect.[4]
• Draper Hall (1938), Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
• Miller Library (1939), Colby College, Waterville, Maine, Jens Fredrick Larson, architect.[2]
• Bellarmine-Jefferson High School (1944), Burbank, California. Replicates the facade, inner staircase, and handrail.
• Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library (1951), Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Jens Fredrick Larson, architect.[2]
• Queens County Savings Bank (1954), Kew Gardens Hills, New York.
• Independence Mall (shopping center) (1964), 1601 Concord Pike (U.S. Route 202), Wilmington, Delaware.[5]
• Knott's Berry Farm (1966), Buena Park, California.[6] A full-size replica, and is claimed to be the only existing exact replica in the US of the original structure.[7] The interior scenes of Independence Hall for the Nicolas Cage movie National Treasure were filmed here.
• Benjamin Franklin Savings & Loan (1971), 10201 SE Washington Street, Portland, Oregon. Now a Bank of America branch.
• Hall of Presidents (1971), Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida.[8] Independence Hall was also among the inspirations for the EPCOT theme park's American pavilion.[9]
• Mahler Student Center (1992), Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas.
• HOLGATE, Ohio - Harold W. Lanzer, a carpenter and builder by trade who in retirement erected a self-titled museum modeled after Independence Hall on Rt. 18 east of Holgate, Ohio (Colin, Wyatt, & Mark Odenweller 2016)
• Founding Fathers Museum (2014), Rapid City, South Dakota.[10]
• South San Francisco City Hall in South San Francisco, California.[11]
• (proposed) Center for Law and Liberty, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas. HBU is currently (2015), fund-raising to build an Independence Hall replica to house its law school.[12]

• 
  Baker Memorial Library (1928), Dartmouth College.
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  Village Hall (1928), Freeport, New York.
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  Henry Ford Museum (1929), Dearborn, Michigan.
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  Walter F. George School of Law (1932), Mercer University.
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  LaGuardia Hall (1936), Brooklyn College.
• 
  Founders Library (1937), Howard University.
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  Draper Hall (1938), Berea College.
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  Miller Library (1939), Colby College.
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  Bellarmine-Jefferson High School (1944), Burbank, California.
• 
  Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library (1951), Bucknell University.
• 
  Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park, California replica interior view. Replica Liberty Bell.
• 
  Knott's Berry Farm (1966), replica exterior view.
• 
  Hall of Presidents (1971), Walt Disney World.
• 
  Mahler Student Center (1992), Dallas Baptist University.

Exposition buildings

• Pennsylvania Building (1893, demolished), World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois.
• Pennsylvania Building (1907), Jamestown Exposition, Norfolk, Virginia. Now part of Naval Station Norfolk.
• Pennsylvania Pavilion (1939, demolished), New York World's Fair, Queens, New York.

• 
  Pennsylvania Building (1893, demolished), 1893 World's Fair, Chicago.
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  Pennsylvania Building (1907), Jamestown Exposition.
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  Pennsylvania Pavilion (1939, demolished), 1939 New York World's Fair.

Models and miniatures

Under the Works Progress Administration, Pennsylvania began the Museum Extension Project, which employed artists, architects and craftsmen to create exhibits for the state's museums. Among the works produced were highly-detailed scale models of historic buildings. In anticipation of the September 1937 sesquicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, 2,600 plaster models of Independence Hall were mass-produced and shipped to schools and public buildings across the country.[13]

• Independence Hall scale model (1937, plaster, WPA), Lobby, U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.[14]
• Independence Hall 1:25-scale model, Minimundus, Klagenfurt, Austria. Minimundus is a Miniature park of architectural models.

• 
  WPA scale model (1937), painted plaster
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  Minimundus, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1994
• 
• 
  Franklin Square miniature golf course, Philadelphia

References

1. Stock Yards National Bank
2. Miller, Rod A. (2006). "Jens Fredrick Larson and colonial revival". In Wilson, Richard Guy; Eyring, Shaun; Marotta, Kenny (eds.). Re-creating the American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press. pp. 53–66 (54). ISBN 0813923484. OCLC 61362746.
3. Cars In Depth,"With Liberty and Six Cylinders For All". Retrieved 1 July 2013.
4. "Howard University Campus Tour". Howard University. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
5. Independence Mall, Wilmington, Delaware.
6. Lesley Wright, "Reopening Constitutes Convention at Knott's", Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1998.
7. Knott's Berry Farm - Independence Hall
8. "Hall of Presidents". Walt Disney World.
9. "The American Adventure". Walt Disney World.
10. Rapid City, South Dakota
11. "City Hall" (DOC). City of South San Francisco. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
12. Independence Hall Project, from Houston Baptist University.
13. Curtis Miller (Spring 2008). "Art with a Purpose: Pennsylvania's Museum Extension Project, 1935–1943". Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine.
14. Independence Hall scale model at the U.S. Supreme Court

Further reading

• Maass, John (April–June 1970). "Architecture & Americanism, or, Pastiches of Independence Hall". Historic Preservation. 22 (2): 17–25. OCLC 78188815.
• Mires, Charlene (2002). Independence Hall in American Memory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812236653. JSTOR j.ctt189ttpq. OCLC 49743696.