A Shambles for the President's House

Abstract

The open-air President's House site that opened in December 2010 at Independence National Historic Park (INHP) in Philadelphia is situated in some of the country’s most hallowed public space. Immediately adjacent to the Liberty Bell Center and just a long block from Independence Hall and, in the other direction, from the National Constitution Center, the sparely defined footprint and frame of the house at the corner of Sixth and Market streets commands attention, in part because it is architecturally such a contrast to the solid settlement of all the other buildings around it. This stark difference announces before one even enters the space that the President’s House is a public history site different from any others in the large compound that is INHP. Joined with its central location, that contrast draws many curious visitors into its interior.