Melissa B.
Yelp
There are no words for how special of a location this is. To walk in the same footsteps as our founding fathers is something that would inspire the most jaded and hardened individuals. Such a feeling illustrates why history can be so transformative, giving us visceral feelings rather than just remembrance of names and dates.
You don't go on the tour and immediately jump into the actual "room where it [happened]" (sorry). First, you have to go through TSA style security, which is fair, since nobody better mess with this building! You then wait in the courtyard until your tour time, at which point a friendly, educated park ranger will sidle up to your group and introduce him or herself, asking where everyone is from. We had people from all over the US, as well as people outside of it, such as England and Zimbabwe! Our tour guide/ranger was very enthusiastic, originally from Puerto Rico, now in Philly!
We started in the hall with the courtroom. This isn't the main room you picture, but it's still an important spot, and it's basically the "opening act" before the "main event." It is here that you learn about the foundations of our legal system, as well as how it was based on English common law.
Then, you walk across the lobby to the MAIN ROOM. This is the same exact room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed (and debated). Imagine one singular room where two of our most important documents were created and made official!
The space has been refurbished, since it's been over 200 years, but the people behind such preservation are careful and ensured that the furniture is period-specific (when they can swing it, from that time period itself) and that other things, such as the wall's paint color, are accurate too. There is no substitute for coming here and checking out this living primary source for yourself. If nothing else, consider what has occurred in the same space in which you are now standing.