Papers of John Adams, volume 20
The Senate have considered the letter that you were pleased to address to the Senate and the House of Representatives, on the 6th instant, and they entertain a proper sense of the respect shown to the general government of the United States, by providing so commodious a building as the commissioners of the city and county of Philadelphia have appropriated for the accommodation of the Representatives of the Union, during their residence in this city.1
I have the honor to be, / Your most humble servant,
Vice President of the United States,
and President of the Senate.
MS not found. Printed from U.S. Senate, Jour.
,
1:218–219.
One of the first orders of business of the new session of
Congress was to consider the 6 Dec. letter inviting members to meet in the former
Philadelphia County Courthouse, located at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets.
Newly renovated to accommodate 300 people, the building included a first-floor
gallery, where the House of Representatives met, and space for the Senate to meet on
the second floor. The building was renamed Congress Hall (Edward M. Riley, “The
Independence Hall Group,” Amer.
Philos. Soc., Trans.
, 43:26, 27, 28 [1953]).