Philadelphia’s history needs a new steward. Drexel is ready. | Opinion

The Atwater Kent Collection includes 130,000 artifacts and archival materials that span more than 300 years of Philadelphia and American history.

Some of these objects — like George Washington’s presidential desk from his home at Sixth and Market Streets, a Lenape wampum belt from 1682, and the gray bowler hat that Abraham Lincoln purchased in Philadelphia for travel to his inauguration in 1861 — are well known. Others — such as a collection of saws, hammers, and tools made by the Disston saw works in Tacony, or the weather vane from Moyamensing Prison in South Philadelphia — are less well known. Yet they all have something to teach us about the many histories of Philadelphia and our nation.

For the past three years, the city of Philadelphia — trustees of the now-shuttered Philadelphia History Museum — and Drexel University’s leadership have worked on the terms for transferring the Atwater Kent Collection to Drexel as successor trustee. As required, the city petitioned the Orphans’ Court Division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for its approval to substitute Drexel University as the new trustee of the collection.

On Feb. 28, the matter came before Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper of the Orphans’ Court in Philadelphia. Following testimony by myself and other Drexel and city officials regarding Drexel’s commitment, expertise, and detailed plans for the collection, the judge decreed that the city and Drexel produce a detailed transfer agreement for her consideration. This ruling allows us to put the finishing touches on a robust plan that makes this collection more widely accessible to the public.

The legally binding collection transfer agreement describes how Drexel will manage the collection for the public. As successor trustee, the university pledges to allow students, educators, scholars, and visitors from around the world to see special exhibitions in person and online. Far from keeping the collection to ourselves, we will work with Philadelphia’s many institutions and cultural organizations to ensure that these materials can be borrowed, displayed, interpreted, and appreciated citywide.

Except for 400 items that were on display before the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent closed its doors nearly four years ago, the bulk of the collection has been kept in a storage facility and remained inaccessible to the public. As we await the court’s review and final approval, Drexel and the city are finalizing the terms of an arrangement that will allow the collection to be relocated to a modern facility in Center City, equipped with security and climate controls that meet museum standards.

The collection is a public trust. As a trustee, Drexel pledges to serve as a committed, responsible, and effective steward of the collection. Under a contract with the city, we have already invested considerable time and effort into evaluating, cataloging, and stabilizing the collection. Drexel also has the technological infrastructure and expertise to digitize the collection, which will ensure that it is widely accessible and discoverable by anyone, anywhere in the world.

“Great cities deserve to have the artifacts of their history preserved by their cities, in their cities, and made accessible to everyone.”

Drexel has a long history of looking after historical objects. In 1891, the banker and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel bequeathed $1 million to the university’s first president to purchase art in Europe for the university he founded. That founding collection now includes more than 6,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, and clocks — including the David Rittenhouse Astronomical Musical Clock, which was built in 1773 and remains arguably the most celebrated timepiece in America.

In order to manage our seven existing collections, Drexel currently employs more than 50 curators, collection managers, conservators, archivists, and catalogers. The university’s commitment to these collections positions us to serve as exemplary stewards of the Atwater Kent Collection.

Great cities deserve to have the artifacts of their history preserved by their cities, in their cities, and made accessible to everyone. Sometimes that happens within the walls of a museum. From its inception in the 1930s, the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent performed this service by displaying a limited number of artifacts in its galleries — only a tiny fraction of the entire collection. Unfortunately, with limited resources and low attendance, the museum was unable to keep its doors open.

If it is not possible for Philadelphia to have a traditional museum of its history right now, we can still have a museum without walls, where the artifacts can be displayed and interpreted in many places and featured in online exhibits.

Our plan is forward-looking. If a grand, new museum of the history of Philadelphia ever becomes a reality, Drexel’s trusteeship of the Atwater Kent Collection will ensure that these artifacts will be ready to fill its galleries.

In the meantime, should Judge Woods-Skipper approve the city’s petition, Drexel will be ready to bring Philadelphia’s precious collection out of its long-standing dormancy and make it more available and accessible — and more captivating — than it has ever been.

John Fry is the president of Drexel University.