Pennsylvania Hall | |
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![]() An illustration of Pennsylvania Hall at its opening in 1838 | |
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General information | |
Status | Destroyed by arson |
Address | 109 N. 6th Street |
Town or city | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | May 14, 1838 |
Closed | May 17, 1838 |
Cost | $40,000 (equivalent to $1,144,500 in 2023) |
Owner | Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society |
Height | 42 feet (13 m)[1]: 3 |
Dimensions | |
Other dimensions | 62 x 100 feet (19 x 30 m)[1]: 3 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 3 + basement |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Thomas Somerville Stewart |
Pennsylvania Hall, "one of the most commodious and splendid buildings in the city,"[2] was an abolitionist venue in Philadelphia, built in 1837–38. It was a "Temple of Free Discussion", where antislavery, women's rights, and other reform lecturers could be heard.[3] Four days after it opened it was destroyed by arson, the work of an anti-abolitionist mob.
This was only six months after the murder of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy by a pro-slavery mob in Illinois, a free state. The abolitionist movement consequently became stronger. The process repeated itself with Pennsylvania Hall; the movement gained strength because of the outrage the burning caused. Abolitionists realized that in some places they would be met with violence. The country became more polarized.
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