Editorial: A revolutionary win-win

Just as every battle reaches a turning point where the outcome seems certain, the long-delayed American Revolution Center (ARC) museum appears to be on the verge of taking a step that will assure its eventual launch in Philadelphia.

The disclosure Thursday that National Park Service officials and founders of the private museum have come to financial terms on a land swap represents a win-win - for ARC, as well as for historic preservation.

It means the Revolutionary War museum finally has secured a home to develop a unique visitor attraction that focuses solely on the nation's seven-year military struggle for independence.

In what could become a major tourist draw, the museum will be established at the old Independence Park visitor center at Third and Chestnut Streets around the corner from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Pavilion.

The scaled-back plans for the museum in its earliest stage come as something of a disappointment, if not a surprise, after the worst recession in decades. But ARC's long-term goal should remain a state-of-the-art museum that tells the story of the war in a compelling fashion.

For preservationists, the deal to be announced formally this week means Valley Forge National Historical Park - the site of the Continental Army's winter encampment - will grow by 78 acres.

The privately owned tract was to be the setting for the ARC museum, but those plans were held up indefinitely by community opposition and a legal battle waged by conservation groups. Although the land is within the park's official boundaries, it could have been sold - and its wooded and rolling meadows carpeted with McMansions.

A year in the making, the agreement detailed in documents obtained by The Inquirer sets a price of $3.2 million for ARC-owned land in Lower Providence Township, Montgomery County. The payment represents the difference in appraised value between the Chestnut Street property and the ARC land, according to park officials.

With the funds already in hand at the park service, the required congressional sign-off for this deal should be a given.