Last updated: April 30, 2025
Place
Viewing Gallery Congress Hall
NPS photo
Have you ever watched Congress? Tuned in for the State of the Union Address or just watched C-SPAN? People in 1790s Philadelphia wanted to watch this new American experiment in action and were welcome to watch in this viewing gallery.Watching Congress proved a popular activity with locals and visitors alike. Polish visitor Julian Niemcewicz remarked :“The galleries above and below could hold perhaps 400 spectators each. They are nearly always filled.”Those in the galleries watched as the big questions of a tiny nation made their way through the workings of government. They witnessed news of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. They saw three new states admitted into the Union (Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee).
The press, tucked between the visiting public, reported on the Alien-Sedition Acts, and the potential of war with France. Entering through black crepe covered doors, public and press alike would have heard the official announcement of George Washington’s death in December 1799.
The press, tucked between the visiting public, reported on the Alien-Sedition Acts, and the potential of war with France. Entering through black crepe covered doors, public and press alike would have heard the official announcement of George Washington’s death in December 1799.