National Hall

It was one of the most popular venues in the city, site of concerts, lectures, meetings, and political speeches.

It opened on January 8, 1856, with a "grand operatic concert".

[1] While it existed, from 1856 to 1873, it was the main venue in Philadelphia for speakers for abolitionism and other progressive causes.

In 1873 it was turned into a theatre by J. H. Johnson & Co., and opened October 21st, under the name of the Olympic Theater.

Two firemen were killed when a wall of the burning building collapsed on them.

Southern Loyalists meeting, National Hall, Philadelphia, 1866. The wires are telegraph lines.
Southern Loyalists Meeting, National Hall, Philadelphia, 1866. For the text on the banners, click here .
Poster announcing a lecture of Frederick Douglass in National Hall, 1863
Olympic Theater, Philadelphia