A $60 million museum that showcased the Bible’s role in American history will shut down less than three years after it opened.
The American Bible Society announced Wednesday (March 13) it will close the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center in Philadelphia on April 1. The 40,000-square-foot museum, which cost a reported $60 million to build, opened in May 2021 in the Wells Fargo building on Independence Mall.
Leaders at the ABS had hoped the center, which was designed for “sharing the importance of the impact of Scripture on the development of the United States,” would draw a quarter million visitors a year, the Philly Voice reported in 2018, when the project was first made public.
“We want the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center to be a place that unites people, shows how faith has always played a role in our nation, and helps visitors consider what difference faith can make in our lives today,” Roy Peterson, then ABS president, said in 2018.
Reasons for closing
The ABS cited the COVID-19 pandemic and “other factors impacting sustainability” in announcing the decision to close the center. The nonprofit did not immediately respond to questions about the costs of running the center or the number of staffers being laid off.
“The FLDC as conceived was a wonderfully innovative idea,” Jennifer Holloran, who became president of ABS this month, told staff in an email, which was obtained by Ministrywatch, a Christian nonprofit watchdog group. “That idea came with big possibilities and requirements to allow it to be functional in the long run. Unfortunately, despite the valiant efforts of our FLDC leadership and team, we have not been able to achieve the long-term sustainability that an experience like that needs to be successful.”
The center — which includes exhibits titled “The Freedom of Faith,” The Spirit of Liberty” and “Struggling Towards Justice” — will remain open to the public until March 28, and tickets purchased for visits after that date will be refunded, according to the ABS.
Rob Wonderling, executive director of FLDC, said he was proud of the work done by the center’s staff. It is unclear how many staff from the center are being laid off due to its closing.
“It has been an honor to serve the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center and witness the many ways it has spurred inspiration, engagement, and personal discovery over the years at the heart of Independence Mall,” said Wonderling, in a statement.
Founded in 1816, the ABS funds Bible translation and distribution and creates Bible resources so “all people may experience its life-changing message,” according to the nonprofit’s website.
The group, which sold its New York home in 2014 and relocated to Philadelphia, has experienced significant leadership churn over the past decade (Read full story here).
Looking ahead
In a statement announcing the FLDC closing, Holloran said the center had “served as a place of exceptional learning and inspiration” and that ABS leaders “look forward to reimagining what the future of content could look like through a publicly accessible, digitized format.”
“We’re tremendously grateful for our local Philadelphia partners, for those who have contributed to its vision, and for the FLDC’s staff who have invested their hearts into serving every person who has walked through the doors,” she said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Bob Smietana and originally published by Religion News Service.
