In what could become a major tourist draw, the museum will be established at the old Independence Park visitor center at Third and Chestnut Streets around the corner from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Pavilion.
The scaled-back plans for the museum in its earliest stage come as something of a disappointment, if not a surprise, after the worst recession in decades. But ARC's long-term goal should remain a state-of-the-art museum that tells the story of the war in a compelling fashion.
For preservationists, the deal to be announced formally this week means Valley Forge National Historical Park - the site of the Continental Army's winter encampment - will grow by 78 acres.
The privately owned tract was to be the setting for the ARC museum, but those plans were held up indefinitely by community opposition and a legal battle waged by conservation groups. Although the land is within the park's official boundaries, it could have been sold - and its wooded and rolling meadows carpeted with McMansions.
A year in the making, the agreement detailed in documents obtained by The Inquirer sets a price of $3.2 million for ARC-owned land in Lower Providence Township, Montgomery County. The payment represents the difference in appraised value between the Chestnut Street property and the ARC land, according to park officials.
With the funds already in hand at the park service, the required congressional sign-off for this deal should be a given.
