After rehab work, restrooms reopened across the street from Independence Hall

After having been closed on and off in recent years due to needed repairs and rehabilitation work, the restroom building across the street from Independence Hall has been reopened to visitors.

The reopening is part of an overall effort to upgrade and prepare the Independence National Historical Park for the nation’s Semiquincentennial in 2026, better known as America’s 250th birthday.

“We are very excited that the restrooms were reopened to the public on May 23,” a spokesperson for the National Park Service said in an email Wednesday.

The intermittent closures of the restrooms at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets have been an inconvenience for visitors to Independence Hall, though restroom facilities have been available for people willing to walk to Sixth and Market Streets to the Independence Visitor Center.

Independence National Historical Park is the most-visited tourist attraction in Philadelphia and covers 54 acres and 46 buildings that include the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, Declaration House, Franklin Court, Second Bank with its portrait gallery, and even the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. The sites draw 2.5 million visitors a year.

The restroom building has been closed and reopened for repairs and projects, as well as for the COVID-19 shutdown, the spokesperson said.

The most recent closure was part of an upgrade of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems in multiple buildings.

“The recent HVAC project entailed excavation in order to run new underground pipes to the building, so we needed to fence off the entire area for visitor and staff safety,” the spokesperson said.

The upgrades were funded by $14 million announced in 2021 from the Great American Outdoors Act, which was enacted in August 2020.

The National Park Service said in 2021 that the “improvements will help prepare the park for the commemorative activities and extra attention associated with the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.”

This year, the National Park Service has been hit with drastic staffing cuts under President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration did, however, specify that funds should be made available to prepare Independence National Historical Park for the July Fourth celebration next year.