The Free Quaker Meetinghouse is a historic

Free Quaker The Religious Society of Free Quakers, originally called "The Religious Society of Friends, by some styled the Free Quakers," was established on February 20, 1781 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More commonly known as Free Quakers, the Society was ...

meeting house A meeting house (also spelled meetinghouse or meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes private meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a: * chu ...

at the southeast corner of 5th and Arch Streets in the

Independence National Historical Park Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It is the oldest surviving Quaker meeting house within the original boundaries of the city of Philadelphia, and the only surviving historic structure remaining on Independence Mall (the three blocks between Chestnut Street and Race Street). The structure is a plain 2 -story Georgian-style brick building with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof first constructed in 1783, with the second floor added in 1788. In 1961, the building was moved west and south to its present site to allow for the widening of Fifth Street as part of the creation of Independence Mall State Park.Free Quaker Society - Meeting House
, Free Quaker Society. Quaker meetings were held in the building until 1836, after which it was occupied by the Apprentices' Library Company of Philadelphia until 1897. ''Note:'' This includes In the 20th century, the building was used as a warehouse for plumbing supplies prior to its restoration in the Independence Mall Improvement Project.
''ushistory.org''. The meetinghouse was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971. The building is open seasonally as part of Independence National Historical Park.Visiting the Free Quaker Meeting House
, Independence National Historical Park.

References

Notes

External links

* ww.freequakers.org/meeting-house.aspx Free Quaker Societybr>Visiting Information
National Park Service * {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, state=collapsed Churches in Philadelphia Quaker meeting houses in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Independence National Historical Park Churches completed in 1783 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Relocated buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia 18th-century architecture in the United States 18th-century Quaker meeting houses Federal architecture in Pennsylvania 1783 establishments in Pennsylvania