Justice 101: Philly Saves: Adaptive Reuse of Sites of Memory and Trauma
Friday, May 01 - Sunday, May 31, 2026
All Day
As America marks 250 years of independence, Philly Saves asks how we steward the physical legacy of our democracy, including prisons, churches, burial grounds, schools, and factories and how these sites can be reclaimed as spaces of civic dialogue, healing, and community life.
Philadelphia is a city layered with history: stories of freedom and democracy alongside legacies of incarceration, displacement, and injustice. Many of the physical spaces that carry these memories are deteriorating or at risk of being lost. Should these sites and their memories be removed, or can they be reclaimed, adapted, and reimagined as places of civic dialogue, cultural vitality, and community healing?
This discussion examines the practice of adaptive reuse and how it has transformed historic structures and landscapes of trauma into spaces that serve new public purposes while honoring their past. It seeks to answer the question: How do we preserve memory while creating new meaning?
Date to be confirmed—please check back for updates.
About the Panelists:
We strive to make the penitentiary and our site, programs, and exhibits accessible to all visitors. Click here to learn more about accessibility and accommodations at ESPHS.
This program is part of Justice 101, a discussion series that dives into some of the most pressing issues in criminal justice today, through a historical lens and with a focus on civic education. Each program includes interactive elements, expert voices, and opportunities for community dialogue.
This program is part of A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future, a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs exploring the evolving meanings of liberty and justice in America. A Time for Liberty is made possible with support from civic and cultural partners including the City of Philadelphia, America250PA, Campus250, the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program series, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
