Help us celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026! Your gift today supports our plans to create a new Welcome Center and launch A Time for Liberty—a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs encouraging reflection on liberty and justice.

Keep reading to learn more or make a gift now!

 


In the early days of our nation, the revolutionary ideas for Eastern State Penitentiary emerged as a bold initiative to reform the criminal justice system. Framed in 1787, just eleven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Eastern State Penitentiary was built on a radical belief in human dignity and our capacity for change.

Our founders sought to answer a question that still echoes through this site and our country today: Have we established justice?

As we approach America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, this issue is especially urgent. The Declaration of Independence set forth the ideals of equality, liberty, and government accountable to the people, and it still challenges us to live up to its ideals today. At Eastern State, we see this anniversary as a moment to reflect on our history and reimagine what liberty and justice mean today.

But we need your help. Will you make a gift today to support a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to foster learning, hospitality, and impact for thousands of visitors who will explore the site and grapple with this essential question in 2026?

Next year, we will host A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future, a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs that will invite you, as well as visitors from around the world, to wrestle with evolving meanings of liberty and justice.

We also plan to create a new Welcome Center: an orientation hub with our first permanent, publicly accessible restrooms. This capital investment will address the most basic visitor needs first—safety, comfort, and wayfinding— so that more people can participate fully in dialogue and learning.

Your support today will make A Time for Liberty and the Eastern State Welcome Center a reality in 2026:

  • The Eastern State Welcome Center: A calm, accessible starting point for every guest, offering wayfinding, historical context, space for conversation, and long-overdue basic amenities. This hub will connect visitors to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Fairmount Park, and the wider city, positioning Eastern State as the perfect place to begin a Philadelphia journey during the Semiquincentennial.

This is not simply about welcoming more people. It’s about welcoming them well, with dignity, care, and context, so they leave informed, inspired, and ready to participate in building a more just future.

We’ve made significant progress already: state and individual support have brought us close to our Welcome Center goal, and partnerships across the city will help us reach diverse audiences in 2026.

But the funding landscape is more competitive than ever, and to meet our program and access commitments, we need you! Your generosity will ensure Eastern State can serve as a hub for dialogue and learning during this meaningful year of celebration and reflection.

If you believe historic places can spark national conversation… if you believe learning together changes what’s possible… if you believe a visit to a museum can open hearts as well as minds, then I hope you’ll stand with us now.

Please make your gift today to ensure Eastern State is ready to welcome you, our community, and the whole world in 2026 and beyond.

Sincerely,

Kerry Sautner, Ed.D.
President and CEO