Valley Forge plan gets ovation, reservation The public applauded details of the Revolution Center, though some oppose construction. Zoning is being revised.

The reviews were mixed after the first public presentation of plans for the American Revolution Center at Valley Forge.

More than 300 people attended the Lower Providence Township supervisors meeting Thursday night to hear about the project, a privately owned museum within the boundaries of Valley Forge National Historical Park that would be the first to tell the complete story of the Revolution.

The initial reaction, led by the supervisors, was a standing ovation.

"I've never seen an applicant's witness get applause," said Albert Paschall, managing director and chief executive officer of the Schuylkill Alliance Chamber of Commerce. "Usually that's when they start booing and jeering. It was quite a very pleasant surprise."

But during the public comment part of the lengthy meeting, residents also made it clear that they had problems with the museum and the accompanying hotel and conference center.

Colleen Eckman, who said she lives in "close proximity" to the site, would prefer the land be kept open.

"I'm not demeaning the American Revolution Center - just the site," she said. "It should not have a museum or a conference center."

Also Thursday, supervisors announced that they would be unveiling a new zoning ordinance for the project next week, with a public hearing set for Sept. 6.

The original ordinance created a public outcry from residents and others, including the National Park Service, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Critics had argued that the ordinance would have permitted paving over about 70 percent of the site, preventing further archaeological study where Washington's first commissary was set up. Supervisor Chairman Craig Dininny said Thursday that those criticisms unfairly distorted the ordinance.

The proposed site of the project is a 78-acre tract on Pawlings Road now owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It's within the boundaries of Valley Forge, but across the Schuylkill from the park's key attractions.

The archdiocese is selling 125 acres for $7.1 million to the center and to Montgomery County and the township for open space and recreation.

The center's plans call for the construction of a three-story, 130,000-square-foot museum built with the latest in "green" technology, a hotel and conference center, a "trailhead building" that would sell snacks and drinks in the summer, and parking for 750 cars.