The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution devoted to the
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nati ...
. On
Independence Mall in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, the center is an interactive museum and a national town hall for constitutional dialogue, hosting government leaders, journalists, scholars, and celebrities for public discussions (including presidential debates). The center offers civic learning resources onsite and online. It does not house the original Constitution, which is stored at the
National Archives Building in
Washington, D.C.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 17, 2000, the 213th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. The center opened on July 4, 2003, joining other historic sites and attractions in what has been called "America's most historic square mile" because of its proximity to
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpi ...
and the
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independen ...
.
Background
![National_Constitution_Center-exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/National_Constitution_Center-exterior.jpg)
The center was created by the Constitution Heritage Act. Approved on September 16, 1988, and signed by President Ronald Reagan, the act defined the National Constitution Center as "within or in close proximity to the Independence National Historical Park. The Center shall disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people." The center is at 525 Arch Street, an address chosen because May 25 (5/25) was the date that the
Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia.
The architectural firm of
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners designed the center, and
Leslie E. Robertson Associates were the structural engineers for the project. Witold Rybczynski of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "Quiet but assertive, respectful of its surroundings, considerate of its public, this building is destined to take its place among the nation's leading public monuments."
Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) is one of the world's longest-established and largest museum exhibition design firms with offices in New York City, London, Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, and Dubai.Bradford A. McKee, What's a Museum: What he says it ...
designed the center's visitor experience and exhibition hall. The public space is , including galleries. The center has of exhibit space. The center is made of American products, including of Indiana limestone, 2.6 million pounds of steel, and a half-million cubic feet of concrete. Construction of the center was overseen by project manager
Hill International.
Prior to its closure in December 2019, the
Newseum, a journalism-themed museum in Washington D.C., had featured a four-story-tall stone panel inscribed with the text of the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
as part of its exterior design. The
Freedom Forum, a nonprofit organization that created the museum, announced in March 2021 that the panel would be dismantled and donated to the National Constitution Center for display in its second-floor atrium.
Leadership
The National Constitution Center board of trustees appointed law professor, legal commentator, and former visiting scholar
Jeffrey Rosen to serve as president and chief executive officer of the center; Rosen began his tenure in June 2013. The chairmen of the board of the Center have been:
Civic education
Originally through its Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, the center offers onsite and online civic-education programs and a study center which develops and distributes teaching tools, lesson plans and resources.
Public engagement
The center has hosted several debates, including a 2008 Democratic presidential primary debate between
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
and
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, a town hall meeting with
Senator John McCain, and a 2006 Pennsylvania Senatorial debate between Republican incumbent
Rick Santorum and Democratic challenger
Bob Casey.
Liberty Medal
In 2006 the center became home to the
Philadelphia Liberty Medal, an annual award established in 1988 to recognize "men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe."
Reception
George Will wrote for ''The Washington Post'', "At the other end of the mall sparkles a modernist jewel of America's civic life, the National Constitution Center". Jason DeParle wrote for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Learning Network, "Since opening in 2003,
he National Constitution Centerhas put forward a vision of constitutional history both left and right have embraced." According to ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'', "The National Constitution Center has established itself as one of the city's cultural celebs, attracting a million visitors a year, putting pizzazz into civic and educational offerings, hosting blockbuster exhibitions, and attracting the nation's intellectual cognoscenti and media elite like bears to honey."
Gallery
File:2012-07 ncc 01.JPG, alt=Large lobby, with state flags and bunting, State flags in the lobby
File:2012-07 ncc 06.JPG, alt=Models of the U.S. Capitol and another building, Exhibits
File:2012-07 ncc 03.JPG, alt=See caption, Life-sized statues of the signers of the Constitution in Signers' Hall
See also
*
Philadelphia Liberty Medal – An annual award administered by the Center
*
Constitution Day (United States)
*
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National P ...
*
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...
* ''
Landmark Cases: Historic Supreme Court Decisions'', 2015 TV series
References
External links
*
Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution*
ttp://blog.constitutioncenter.org/ Constitution Daily blog of the National Constitution Center
{{use mdy dates, date=April 2022
Buildings and structures in Independence National Historical Park
History museums in Pennsylvania
Independence National Historical Park
Museums established in 2004
Museums in Philadelphia
Old City, Philadelphia
Constitution of the United States
2004 establishments in Pennsylvania