Philadelphia History Museum


Franklin Institute
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

(2013)
Show map of PhiladelphiaShow map of PennsylvaniaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	15 S. 7th St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°57′1″N 75°9′9″W / 39.95028°N 75.15250°W / 39.95028; -75.15250Coordinates: 39°57′1″N 75°9′9″W / 39.95028°N 75.15250°W / 39.95028; -75.15250
Built	1825
Architect	John Haviland
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	79002319^[1]
Added to NRHP	August 1, 1979

The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent was a public history museum located in Center City, Philadelphia from 1938 until 2018. The museum occupied architect John Haviland's landmark Greek Revival structure built in 1824–1826 for the Franklin Institute.^[2] The Museum operated as a city agency as part of Philadelphia's Department of Recreation. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1979.^[1]

History[]

The museum was established through the efforts of Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson, , president of the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, and A. Atwater Kent, radio pioneer and inventor. In 1938 Kent purchased the former Franklin Institute building, which the Institute had vacated in 1933,^[3] and gifted the building to the city for use as a public history museum. Following renovations carried out by the Works Progress Administration, the Museum opened in 1941. ^[4]

After years of declining attendance and financial shortfalls, the museum closed its doors in 2018. ^[5] In September 2019, the city approved a plan to transfer the museum's collections to Drexel University. ^[6]

Collection[]

The Museum's collections included more than 80,000 objects related to Philadelphia and regional history, including an estimated 10,000 17th- to 20th-century artifacts from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania art and artifact collection, 1700 Quaker-related items from Friends Historical Association Collection, and collections reflecting Philadelphia manufacturing, the 1876 Centennial Exposition, toys and miniatures, and radio broadcasting.^[7]

Highlights from the permanent exhibitions included the boxing gloves of Joe Frazier,^[8] the desk of George Washington,^[9] a drinking glass owned by Benjamin Franklin,^[8] and a wampum belt allegedly given to William Penn by the Lenape.^[9]

References[]

Notes

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ "Museum History — Philadelphia History Museum". www.philadelphiahistory.org. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
^ Gallery, John Andrew, ed. (2004), Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.), Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture, ISBN 0962290815, p.36
^ "Museum History — Philadelphia History Museum". www.philadelphiahistory.org. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
^ "Philadelphia History Museum Shuts its Doors Indefinitely". Retrieved 2021-03-06.
^ "Drexel is Prepared to Take Charge of Philadelphia History Museum holdings". Retrieved 2021-03-06.
^ "Museum History — Philadelphia History Museum". www.philadelphiahistory.org. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Special Collections — Philadelphia History Museum". www.philadelphiahistory.org. Retrieved 2017-07-15.

Bibliography

Weigley, et al. Philadelphia: A 300 Year History. New York: W.W. Norton, 1982.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philadelphia History Museum.

Official website
Virtual Tour of Philadelphia's stop at the Atwater Kent
Philadelphia department of recreation
Building listing, photograph, and drawings at the Historic American Buildings Survey
Building listing, history, and images at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings

show v t City of Philadelphia
Nickname: City of Brotherly Love
Topics	History Timeline Accent Architecture Bibliography Companies Cuisine Culture Demographics Economy Education Media Music Notable people Sites of interest Historic Landmarks Skyscrapers Transportation
Government	City Hall Mayors City Council District Attorney Airport Fire Department Free Library Police Department School district Sister cities Federal: U.S. Mint U.S. District Court for the Eastern Dist. of Pa. U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
Neighborhoods	Center City North Philadelphia Lower North Upper North Northwest Northeast Philadelphia South Philadelphia Southwest Philadelphia West Philadelphia
Museums	Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University African American Museum in Philadelphia American Philosophical Society American Swedish Historical Museum Athenaeum of Philadelphia Barnes Foundation Bartram's Garden Belmont Mansion Betsy Ross House Civil War Museum Cliveden Eastern State Penitentiary Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site Elfreth's Alley Fabric Workshop and Museum Fairmount Water Works Fort Mifflin Franklin Institute Germantown White House Glen Foerd on the Delaware Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library Grumblethorpe Hill–Physick–Keith House Historic Strawberry Mansion Historical Society of Frankford Historical Society of Pennsylvania Independence National Historical Park Independence Hall Independence Seaport Museum Insectarium Institute of Contemporary Art John Johnson House John Ruan House La Salle University Art Museum Lemon Hill Marian Anderson Residence Museum Masonic Temple, Library, and Museum Museum of the American Revolution Mütter Museum National Constitution Center National Liberty Museum National Museum of American Jewish History Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia History Museum Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Please Touch Museum Powel House RittenhouseTown Rodin Museum Rosenbach Museum and Library Ryerss Museum and Library Science History Institute Shofuso Japanese House and Garden Stenton Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Wagner Free Institute of Science Woodmere Art Museum Wyck House
Sports	76ers Eagles Flyers Freedoms Phillies Union Fusion
Squares	Centre Franklin Logan Rittenhouse Washington
Wards	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Related articles	Delaware Valley Independence Hall Liberty Bell
Category Commons Portal

show v t Museums in Pennsylvania
Art	Allentown Art Museum Andy Warhol Museum Athenaeum of Philadelphia Barnes Foundation Brandywine River Museum Carnegie Museum of Art The Clemente Museum Demuth Museum Erie Art Museum The Frick Pittsburgh Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia La Salle University Art Museum Mattress Factory Michener Art Museum Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon Palmer Museum of Art Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia Museum of Art Pittsburgh Glass Center Randyland Reading Public Museum Rodin Museum Susquehanna Art Museum Westmoreland Museum of American Art Woodmere Art Museum
History, Culture, and Religion	African American Museum in Philadelphia American Jewish Museum American Swedish Historical Museum Bicycle Heaven Civil War Museum of Philadelphia Erie Maritime Museum Gettysburg Museum Heinz History Center Independence National Historical Park Independence Hall Independence Seaport Museum Johnstown Flood Museum Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mercer Museum Museum of the American Revolution Museum of Indian Culture National Civil War Museum National Constitution Center National Museum of American Jewish History Nationality Rooms Philadelphia History Museum Rosenbach Museum and Library State Museum of Pennsylvania U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Science, Technology, and Industry	Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University America On Wheels Carnegie Museum of Natural History Carnegie Science Center Center for PostNatural History Choo Choo Barn Da Vinci Science Center Delaware County Institute of Science Drake Well Museum Everhart Museum Franklin Institute Miniature Railroad & Village Mütter Museum National Toy Train Museum Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Railroaders Memorial Museum Reading Railroad Heritage Museum Roadside America Science History Institute Steamtown National Historic Site Wagner Free Institute of Science
Children's	Children's Museum of Pittsburgh Please Touch Museum

show v t US National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Adams Allegheny Armstrong Beaver Bedford Berks Blair Bradford Bucks Butler Cambria Cameron Carbon Centre Chester East North South Clarion Clearfield Clinton Columbia Crawford Cumberland Dauphin Delaware Elk Erie Fayette Forest Franklin Fulton Greene Huntingdon Indiana Jefferson Juniata Lackawanna Lancaster Lawrence Lebanon Lehigh Luzerne Lycoming McKean Mercer Mifflin Monroe Montgomery Montour Northampton Northumberland Perry Philadelphia Pike Potter Schuylkill Snyder Somerset Sullivan Susquehanna Tioga Union Venango Warren Washington Wayne Westmoreland Wyoming York
Lists by city	Pittsburgh Lancaster Philadelphia Center City North Northeast Northwest South Southwest West
Other lists	European archaeological sites Native American archaeological sites Bridges (covered) National Historic Landmarks (Philadelphia)
Category NRHP portal

show Authority control
General	ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat
National libraries	United States

Philadelphia History Museum

Contents

History[]

Collection[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]