Press Release

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA?
Since 1776, Independence Mall Has Been Continuously Changing

PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2008 - Although radically changed over the past 10 years, Historic Philadelphia continues to evolve and improve to meet the needs of modern day visitors. Major enhancements to the area will continue far into the next decade and beyond. From beautified outdoor spaces to new historic attractions and cultural institutions, Historic Philadelphia’s improvements promise to bring visitors back again and again. Here’s what’s in store:

Franklin Court

Photo by J. Smith for GPTMC

 

• With the completion of the landscaping of the area surrounded by Market, Arch, 5^th and 6^th Streets, the Independence Visitor Center’s new outdoor café will be ready to serve hungry visitors beginning April 21, 2008. Max & Me will provide catering services. Plans are in the works to add a canopy to cover the café, likely to be completed in 2009. www.nps.gov/inde

• Unexpected discoveries uncovered during the archeological dig at the site of the former Executive Mansion presented exciting opportunities to expand the original plans for the President’s House Commemorative Site. After unearthing foundation walls, a tunnel (used by the domestic staff, both enslaved and free, to go between the kitchen and the main house) and the foundation for a bowed window (from President Washington’s office), historians and project planners are developing new plans that will offer deeper insights into the lives of the people who lived and worked there, among them at least nine enslaved people of African descent held by President George Washington from 1790 to 1797. (John Adams also lived here during his presidency.) Scheduled to debut in 2010, the President’s House Commemorative Site, located within close view of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center, will be an acknowledgement of the philosophical battles that took place on this land over the status of free Africans and the history of slavery. 6^th & Chestnut Streets, (215) 965-2305, www.phila.gov/presidentshouse
• In 2010, the National Museum of American Jewish History will move into its brand-new home on Independence Mall. The museum is being built on the site of the longtime home of the KYW television and radio stations. The 100,000-square-foot, five-story building will be a vital center of preserving, exploring and celebrating the history of Jewish people in America. The $150 million museum will house interactive exhibitions, educational programs and community activities designed to present the experiences of Jewish people and other ethnic groups whose lives, choices and challenges shaped—and were shaped by—our nation. The new site (just half a block from its current location) is expected to attract 250,000 people annually. 5^th & Market Streets, (215) 923-3811, www.nmajh.org
• The underground museum at Franklin Court is about to undergo its first major overhaul since it was constructed in 1976 for the city’s Bicentennial celebration. Following an $18 million renovation tentatively scheduled for completion in 2010, the revitalized museum will feature interactive displays exploring Benjamin Franklin’s life as a private citizen and as a statesman on both sides of the Atlantic. 310 Market Street, (215) 597-0060, www.nps.gov/inde
• The Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia’s history museum, will close for one year in 2009 while the building undergoes its first comprehensive overhaul. It will reopen in 2010 with two new galleries and multimedia, interactive exhibitions previously not feasible because of the building’s infrastructure. The renovation will also enhance access for people with disabilities. 15 S. 7^th Street, (215) 685-4830, www.philadelphiahistory.org

• The Elfreth’s Alley Association and local developers will transform the asphalt lot between the 100-200 block of North 2^nd Street, known as “Flagpole Park,” into a green space for the community. The pocket park, which will be completed in 2011, will include interpretive markers delineating the history of Elfreth’s Alley, the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited street. 126 Elfreth’s Alley, (215) 574-0560, www.elfrethsalley.org
• Plans are afloat for the Independence Seaport Museum to overhaul the U.S.S. Olympia, Admiral Dewey’s flagship during the Spanish-American War. The $10 million restoration project will include new exhibitions and interpretive activities. When completed in 2011, the ship will be returned to a new dock facility in the basin at Penn’s Landing. 211 S. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 413-8655, www.phillyseaport.org

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery.

CONTACT:

Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com

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