Museum of the American Revolution gets under way again

Third time's the charm.

After years of debate, two rejected sites and immeasurable frustration, plans for the Museum of the American Revolution are finally under way, with the announcement Tuesday that the architect chosen to design the museum is - again - Robert A.M. Stern.

"The institution is incredibly important," Stern said. "It's a thrill to be part of the process."

And, no doubt, a test of patience.

The New York architect, longtime dean of the Yale School of Architecture, has been selected twice before to design the museum - first in 2004, when it was to be built in Valley Forge National Historical Park, and a year later, when the site was moved to an adjacent property.

Both projects were scrapped when disputes arose with the National Park Service, neighbors, and other parties over the museum's placement and potential ancillary land use.

Then, last year, the American Revolution Center, the nonprofit creating the museum and supplying its artifacts, agreed to give the Park Service a 78-acre property across from Valley Forge in exchange for the site of the old Independence Park visitor center at Third and Chestnut Streets.

Although Stern's firm might have seemed the automatic choice for the new project, the center sought competitive bids once more.

"We felt that in order to exercise due diligence, we should go out there," said David Acton, secretary of the center's board of directors and vice chairman of the building committee that reviewed 40 architects' proposals.

Last spring, five finalists were chosen. Stern's concept was the clear winner, Acton said: "Bob took it to a higher level. His conceptual proposal was very detailed."

Stern's concept for the museum at Valley Forge was praised for its sophistication and fluid lines.

The building on Independence Mall will be very different, Acton said: "It is in a city district as opposed to a cornfield. If they had just rehashed the old design, we wouldn't have been impressed."

The $150 million project, funded in part with a grant from the state, is expected to be completed in 2015. Stern, in an interview, anticipated that he would have a "fully cooked" design ready by February.