Then and now
The hall that hosted Philadelphia’s first Republican nominating convention, in 1856, has since been carved into condominiums. Built in 1824, Musical Fund Hall was used for concerts and cultural activities. The Republicans nominated Sen. John C. Fremont of California for president. (He would lose to Democrat James Buchanan). In doing so, the delegates passed over an obscure former one-term congressman named Abraham Lincoln.
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Sources: Republican National Convention; “National Party Conventions 1831-1996”; Associated Press
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