Carpenters' Hall

Ahead of our "Spies of Carpenters' Hall" Event with Charlie and Nancy Cook, we are showcasing children's works from the library collection at Carpenters' Hall. Register below for "The Spies at Carpenters' Hall" a virtual event on December 5 at 11 AM. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-spies-at-carpenters-hall-t... This 1865 edition of Adventures of Baron Munchausen is cataloged under the Juvenile Fiction section in The Carpenters’ Company’s library. This version of Adventures of Baron Munchausen was no doubt adapted from the collection of tall tales compiled originally by Rudolph Raspe. The character at the center of Raspe’s tall tales is based on a real life person, Freiherr von Münchhausen, a Russian Baron. Throughout various fictional stories, Münchhausen fights a 40 foot tall alligator, rides a cannon ball and visits the moon. After the original collection of works was published in 1786, the real Freiherr von Münchhausen threatened legal action against the publisher. Raspe remained anonymous as author of the text until after his death, most likely to protect himself from libel suits. The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen remains an influential work although it is not widely read today as it was in the 19th century. The story is perhaps best known by contemporary audiences via its 1988 blockbuster film adaptation by Terry Gilliam. The Münchhausen story is also the inspiration of the extremely historic and influential 1902 proto-surreal film, A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Méliès.

Join us tomorrow for a free virtual tour of our exhibit, Places for the People! Event starts at 3 PM. See the event page below for details.

Shout out to Carpenters' Company Member Firm Langan for their 50 years in business! They've put together a fascinating ebook on their website to celebrate the occasion.

Behind the scenes at Carpenters Hall ! Preparing for our upcoming exhibit with Posters for the People Opening November 6th!

WPA 2.0 Envisioning a New Era of Public Arts Funding

Registration for tonight's panel: "WPA 2.0: Envisioning a New Era of Public Arts Funding" is full. Fear not! You can still tune in for the panel on Mural Arts' Facebook page via livestream. Tonight, December 2nd at 5:30 PM. https://www.facebook.com/MuralArtsPhiladelphia/

Please join us virtually on Saturday, November 14 at 4:30 p.m. as the Carpenters’ Company celebrates the inaugural David McCullough Award for Excellence in American Public History. The awards will be presented to Lonnie Bunch, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and to Francine Gold, history teacher at Philadelphia’s Constitution High School. We hope to see you there! Registration is below.

Reminder! On Monday, October 26, a small, socially distant ceremony will be held on the front steps of Carpenters' Hall to commemorate the end of the First Continental Congress. This ceremony will be accompanied by readings contemporary to the 1774 meeting of the congress. Please register at the link attached to this post so we can keep track of numbers and ensure a safe crowd size.

Today is #AskAnArchivist day. Please feel free to ask us any questions you have about our collections or the archival profession generally. Our archives are administered by our consulting archivist, Carol Smith in coordination with our Embedded Scholar Tom Stokes and Assistant Director, Alex Palma. We will be fielding your questions in the comments below! ... Check out our digital archives! https://archive.carpentershall.org/

We are extremely pleased to partner with the American Philosophical Society for this online discussion! 1774 was a watershed year for Carpenters' Hall, of course, it was the year the building was constructed and it was the year the First Continental Congress convened here. As we'll see, however, it was a titanic year outside of that context too! Come and learn with us on October 22. You'll find registration info below.

One week from today! Join us in conversation with Alexandra Kirtley of the Philadelphia Museum of Art- a free event held over Zoom.

Please join us in welcoming Alyssa Constad to our staff here at Carpenters' Hall ! Alyssa Constad joins The Carpenters’ Company from Washington D.C. where she worked as the Women’s History and Resource Center Manager at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in Washington D.C. for the last four years. Alyssa grew up just an hour north of Philadelphia, in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and attended Dickinson College, where she earned her B.A. in American Studies. After working in... various museums in New York City for two years, Alyssa moved to Columbia, South Carolina to pursue her MA in Public History from the University of South Carolina. After working in three different National Historic Landmarks, Alyssa is excited to be a part of a building and a Company that is so integral to the fabric of our nation. When she is not at Carpenters’ Hall, you can find Alyssa running on the Schuylkill River Trail or walking her giant 95 pound goldendoodle, Teddy Graham. Alyssa is living in Philadelphia with her husband, Erich, and enjoying all the city has to offer.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Charlie Hollenbach. Charlie was an honorary member of the Carpenters' Company and the progenitor of our interpretive program here at Carpenters' Hall. The Company will miss him deeply and we will be forever thankful for the work he did here.

We at Carpenters' Hall are incredibly saddened by the loss of Joyce Gelman, a longtime docent and volunteer. Joyce had been a volunteer for over 20 years. Her presence will be forever woven into the fabric of Carpenters' Hall and the hearts of those who knew her.

Happy Constitution Day! This banner was carried in 1788 by the Carpenters' Company to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution: https://archive.carpentershall.org/items/show/22158

Signal boosting for Green Building United's Sustainability Symposium. Consider registering! As the climate crisis accelerates, issues of green construction and sustainability are ever more relevant.

Sam Olshin, Principal of Atkin Olshin Schade Architects and member of the Carpenters' Company, is being featured in an upcoming Artist Perspective series for the Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center https://uptownwestchester.org/uptown-artist-series/