My book project examines the civic revolution that unfolded in Philadelphia in the seventy-five years before Independence.  In its evolution from an imagined city to an actual, lived place, Philadelphia required myriad institutions to order and indeed to create community.  Local government engaged various stakeholders through a decentralized model that appeared—and perhaps was—chaotic, but that yet allowed for various and even conflicting visions to compete for dominance.  Still more important, it left extensive space outside its formal bounds for voluntary association, which became an important avenue for white, male Philadelphian engagement in the social, political, economic, and civic life of their city.  Through these organizations Philadelphia men provided the civic infrastructure for a heterogeneous city that lacked strong state apparatus, established church, or time-honored tradition.  The civic model forged by generations of Philadelphia actors challenge modern historiographical notions of a dichotomous public-private, and provided the context for the relatively peaceful transition to a revolutionary government after 1776.