PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The African American Museum in Philadelphia is moving. Mayor Jim Kenney announced on Thursday that it will relocate from its current building at 7th and Arch streets to the long-vacant Family Court Building at 18th and Vine in Logan Square.
The Family Court Building, the twin and neighbor of the Free Library of Philadelphia building, has been unused for eight years. An earlier proposal to turn it into a hotel was scuttled during the pandemic. In the year since new bids were solicited, the mayor and City Council President Darrell Clarke cemented a plan for the new use to include the African American Museum.
“Today we’re excited that it will be where it belongs, on the Parkway,” Clarke said.
Clarke says he has long thought AAMP should be located closer to its peers.
The change will give the museum a larger, more prominent location — and it will re-activate one of the grandest structures on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, occupying 48,000 square feet of the grand Beaux-Arts building. That’s about one-fifth of the building’s total interior, but three times the size of the current museum.
AAMP Director Ashley Jordan said she welcomes the challenge.
“To have an institution of this size, it’s going to be transformative and revolutionary in scope,” Jordan said.
She said the change will be transformative and admitted it will be a huge task.
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“We can do it. I’m going into this boldly and ready to take on the challenge,” she said.
Free Library President Kelly Richards said he foresees opportunities for collaboration.
“Becoming neighbors creates a truly unique moment for the Free Library and African American Museum to engage with the city’s history and community,” Richards said.
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Four developers are competing for the project, which includes an expansion of the Free Library of Philadelphia into the property at 1901 Wood Street — the addition of a Children and Family Center, auditorium, storage, and administrative office space.
The city owns and funds the museum and is likely to sell its current home, half a block from the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters, which is currently up for sale. Officials say additional fundraising will be needed for the move. There is no price tag or time line yet.
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