Until the 1820’s, Independence Square was known variously as “State House Yard” or “State House Garden.” Originally the land bounded by Chestnut, Walnut, Fifth, and Sixth Streets had been set aside by William Penn as “bonus lots.” To each purchaser of a substantial farm or “country lot,” Penn also gave a city lot as a bonus. The pieces in this particular square were given to Welsh Quakers who settled in Radnor Township. By the time the ground along Chestnut Street was acquired to erect the State House, most of the original owners had already sold their parcels. By deed dated October 15, 1730, the first lot on the square was purchased by William Allen for the use of the Province. Within the next 2 years the entire Chestnut Street frontage, extending halfway back to Walnut Street, had been secured. Construction of the State House began in 1732. The desire to provide a proper setting for the State House was evident from the beginning. In the year that the building was begun, the Assembly considered leveling the site and enclosing it with a board fence “in order that Walks may be laid out, and Trees planted, to render the same more beautiful and commodious.” As far as is known, however, the landscaping was not carried out until considerably later. [Illustration: _Independence Square in 1838, as seen from the steeple of Independence Hall._ Lithograph by J. C. Wild, 1838. Courtesy Historical Society of Pennsylvania.] On February 20, 1736, the Assembly determined on a most important policy. An act vesting the State House and its grounds in trustees provided: “That no part of the said ground lying to the southward of the State House as it is now built be converted into or made use of for erecting any sort of buildings thereon, but that the said ground shall be enclosed and remain a public open green and Walks forever.” This provision has been retained as a guiding principle in the development of the square save for occasional deviations. On August 9, 1739, the Assembly ordered “that Materials be prepared for encompassing the Ground with a Wall in the ensuing Spring....” Two years later a portion of this wall was taken down and rebuilt with a shingle cornice added to carry off rain water. Purchasing the remainder of the square was delayed nearly four decades. On May 14, 1762, the Assembly directed that the balance of the land be obtained, and by 1769 the necessary lots had been acquired. In 1770, the Assembly enclosed the whole square with a brick wall 7 feet high, pierced at the center of the Walnut Street front by a tall arched gateway with solid wooden doors. At this time the square contained the State House, with its wings and wooden sheds, and a small wooden platform erected in 1768. The latter was constructed at the instigation of the American Philosophical Society for observing the transit of Venus across the sun on June 3, 1769. It is believed that the observatory stood about 40 feet south of the east wing of the State House.