Arch Street Meeting House

Philadelphia is home to the largest Quaker Friends Meeting House in the world—the Arch Street Meeting House. It's also the city's oldest.

William Penn, founder of Philadelphia and a Quaker, set aside land at the corner of Arch Street and 4th Street in the city center in 1701 for the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The land was originally used for Quaker burials, and in 1803 the first parts of the current Meeting House were built. The Arch Street Friends Meeting House has been in continuous use since it was first built.

The Arch Street Meeting House is the site of Monthly Meetings and Yearly Meetings, and it's also open to visitors as a National Historic Landmark. One section of the building features dioramas of William Penn's life, as well as the 18th century diary of a local Quaker.