Avenue of American History
Proposed Site
The Avenue of American History Development Group is exploring the feasibility of locating the museum
in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park
on a parcel of land located midway between the Philadelphia Zoo and the Mann Music Center
and adjacent to the School of the Future developed by Philadelphia's Public Schools and Microsoft.
in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park
on a parcel of land located midway between the Philadelphia Zoo and the Mann Music Center
and adjacent to the School of the Future developed by Philadelphia's Public Schools and Microsoft.
Below is a list of the site's advantages:
- Relatively tranquil location, suitable for contemplative experiences.
- Because the City of Philadelphia owns the site, this will minimize acquisition costs if the site is made available as an in-kind contribution to the Avenue of American History Development Group.
- The site is a swath of mostly uninterrupted land, allowing for the future expansion of the institution for the foreseeable future. However, the already designed and funded Centennial Commons project represents a challenge to some degree in working out mutual accommodations so that both projects could occupy the land on a cooperative basis.
- There is direct, or near-to-direct, access from major vehicular transportation routes.
- The site is in close proximity to mass transportation.
- Land is available for relatively inexpensive and convenient automobile and bus parking.
- There is easy pedestrian access.
- Nearby recreational facilities (existing and proposed) are available for families and children.
- Other existing historical and cultural sites are nearby.
- Land that is flat contributes to affordable construction costs.
- Minimal existing underground utilities will reduce the cost of the proposed below-grade concourse level.
- Nearby residential and commercial areas would benefit from the economic stimulus of the Avenue of American History.
- The U.S. Centennial Exhibition of 1876 attracted one-quarter of the entire U.S. population plus visitors from around the world.
- Creating the Avenue of American History will ensure the future success of the immediately adjacent Please Touch Museum housed in the grand 1876 Memorial Hall.
