A PRIVATE organization will request approval on Sept. 6 of the Lower Providence board of supervisors to commercialize a portion of Valley Forge National Park.
The pretense is to build a Revolutionary War museum. But it will occupy only 12 percent of the million-plus-square-foot facility. Most of the structure will contain offices, a bank, a five-story conference center, a hotel, an auditorium for live performances, restaurants and a tavern, retail stores and a 65-foot observation deck.
All of these will be within the Valley Forge Park boundary. The area selected is part of the 1777-78 encampment. Archeologists have found remains of the camp, its structures and roads, just under the surface. The commercialization will destroy the historic, archeological, natural and scenic value.
