Philadelphia Prepares For Another Museum Opening
If there’s one thing that Philadelphia has in spades, it’s a sense of history. Who doesn’t think of the city and automatically think of the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’ house, and the preserved buildings where George Washington and Ben Franklin hobnobbed? The fact of the matter is, Philadelphia is crammed with monuments to the American Revolution. In Old City, there is an entire 8-by-10 block square dedicated over solely to historical preservation.
The Liberty Bell is just one of several historical attractions in Philadelphia.
Is there room in the City of Brotherly Love for yet another museum dedicated to the 18th century? To ask Michael C. Quinn, the answer is “yes.” Quinn is the president and chief executive of the Museum of the American Revolution, a $119 million project that is on schedule to open its doors in April 2017. The Museum will be just two blocks east of Independence Hall. Quinn, talking about the Revolution and the relative saturation of similar landmarks nearby, had this to say to the New York Times: “It is an incredibly compelling story, and it created some of the most inspiring and lofty ideals the world has known. We have to keep telling it in as many ways as possible.”
It is already being told in many ways, the Times seems to argue. Nearby to the new Museum will be “Independence National Historical Park, with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and a half-dozen other significant former government buildings.” To the north of that: the National Constitution Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to America’s governing document. There’s also the American Philosophical Society, founded by Benjamin Franklin, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution. There are also period buildings like the Athenaeum, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and the Library Company, as well as several historic graveyards where the bones of revolutionary greats lie in rest.
Meryl Levitz, president and chief executive of Visit Philadelphia, “the city’s main nonprofit tourism promotion agency,” argues that there can’t be too much history in Philly, pointing out that “this is where America begins.” It remains to be seen whether Philadelphia visitors will agree.
