Members of Congress came back to where it all started in Philadelphia on Wednesday, gathering in the historic Congress Hall where the nation’s early lawmakers once met.

It was part of a ceremony marking America’s 250th birthday.

“Today on July 2, 1776, delegates gathered here and voted for independence,” Rep. GT Thompson, R-Pa., said.

The bipartisan event brought lawmakers back to the city where the nation’s founding took shape. They later gathered inside Independence Hall where history was made two and a half centuries ago.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said he spent two years working to bring the event to Philadelphia as the country celebrates its 250th birthday.

“So I said moments ago, ‘Welcome,’ but I could have said, ‘Welcome back to what was our original House chamber,'” Boyle said.

Boyle said the ceremony was less about current policy and more about bringing members of both parties together.

“Today’s not necessarily about policy specifically but the kind of moment that we can have here as colleagues, members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — coming together all to celebrate the same thing. Those sorts of moments rarely happen in Washington, D.C.,” Boyle said.

Several lawmakers reflected on both the nation’s history and its progress.

“250 years ago, people like me were not fully included in the founders’ vision,” Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa., said.

“We have made progress but we have much more to do,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-NJ, said.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said one of his favorite moments was joining other lawmakers in signing the congressional record during the ceremony.

“None of us are going to be in this job forever. All you want to do in any of our careers is be able to look back at our body of work and be proud of it when we get older. That’s going to be a moment I’m going to be really proud of,” Fitzpatrick said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.