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The Rights Stuff-by Sean Downey
In Signer’s Hall in historic Philadelphia, some visitors stand proudly amid the 39 statues of the signers and dissenters, reveling in the moment that defined the United States’ democracy—the creation of the Constitution.
And others complain that their feet hurt.
At the National Constitution Center (NCC), freedom of expression is paramount, which is one of NCC President Rick Stengel’s favorite things about the place. The exhibition is a narrative of the history of the United States as told through the Constitution. Stengel, a former assistant managing editor at Time magazine, says, “There aren’t that many institutions that can be honest brokers in the realm of ideas. When it comes to, let’s say, the gay marriage amendment, we can say ‘Here are both sides of the argument,’ which means that people can differ. Our whole country is about debate over the realm of ideas, and we can do that here.”
Rewriting History
Most U.S. citizens could fit in their pockets what they know about the Constitution, says Liz Barszczewski, public relations director of the NCC. Beyond the Constitution’s origin and history, the National Constitution Center’s exhibits aim to educate visitors on the document’s significance in their everyday lives; how, for example, it plays a role in the movies they see or the music they listen to.
The NCC straddles two of the most significant blocks in Philadelphia’s history, directly across from Independence Hall, where the original document was signed in secret. After 15 years in the making, the Center appropriately opened this past Independence Day with the mandate to make the Constitution relevant to visitors today.
Architects Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners, and Ralph Appelbaum Associates, led by founding partner Henry N. Cobb and exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum, created the Center. (Appelbaum is the inspired mind behind the design of the Newseum in Northern Virginia and the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.) The group wase given the task of transforming the third block of Independence Mall into a space that would be a portal into history, democracy, education, and debate.
According to Barszczewski, the immense glass structure was “designed to symbolize the transparent government of the U.S.” The design also tells tourists and city residents that this is not an exclusive place; it’s open to everyone. Once inside the main exhibition, visitors are drawn into a round hall decorated with images of Philadelphia in 1786. This leads to the 350-seat Kimmel Theater and the show, Freedom Rising, which, Stengel says, “brings alive what is the nature of being an American—an issue we’ve all struggled with for years.” As the 360-degree screen around the perimeter of the theater flashes with images, an actor, dressed in everyday clothes, takes center stage and asks, “What makes us Americans?” The 20-minute multimedia presentation covers everything from the creation of the Constitution and the need for a balance of power to slavery and women’s rights. The actor finishes by asking asks the audience, “What will we do with freedom?”With that, the theater opens to the museum’s 100 permanent multimedia exhibitions. Using an array of available technology to create fascinating and interactive exhibits, a walk through the center is truly a journey through U.S. history. “Attending Freedom Rising, you see kids, teenagers are all moved by different things,” Stengel says. “That’s what’s so special about the museum. There’s something for each age group—the kids love taking the oath of office into presidency. Everybody gravitates toward something that speaks to them. Some listen to the fireside chats. Some put on a robe and sit on the Supreme Court.”
Artifacts such as the inkwell that Abraham Lincoln used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, a lock pick used during the Watergate burglary, and one of Palm Beach County’s infamous butterfly ballots from the 2000 presidential election are on display throughout the exhibition. Many of these items are part of the National Archives collection, while others are part of the National Constitution Center’s own collection.
Visitors have the opportunity to weigh in on current political issues, such as how the Supreme Court should rule on the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools or if an amendment should be added to the Constitution to ban gay marriage. A magnetic board—with different questions posed regularly—displays a variety of opinions. At the end of the day these notes are collected and kept in a binder for future research. These opinions will be used to help create special exhibits down the road, Barszczewski says.Breaking Ground
In 1988, Congress passed the Constitution Heritage Act, creating the independent, nonpartisan organization that became the National Constitution Center. Barszczewski says the founding fathers—and mothers—of the NCC always felt it should be situated across from Independence Hall. The group was granted a 501c3 (nonprofit) status and then began the job of raising the funds to get the project going.
But by 1997, then-Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell felt the project was floundering financially, and he brought Joseph Torsella on board as president of the center to help secure funding and begin conceptual development for the NCC. Torsella succeeded in raising $180 million of the projected $185 million cost, and he worked to ensure the museum opened on time. He appointed a board of advisers, which included nationally known scholars, including professors at Ivy League universities, presidents of historical societies, and directors of museums nationwide to create relevant, interactive, and accurate exhibitions. By September 17, 2000, when President Clinton presided over the National Constitution Center’s groundbreaking ceremonies—213 years to the day from when the U.S. Constitution was signed—the state had released $22 million in capital funding.
Under Torsella’s leadership, the National Constitution Center restructured its finances and operations, and the museum opened on time and on budget on July 4, 2003, to rave reviews.
The only mishap occurred just as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was pulling the ribbons to officially open the Center. As she tugged the strands apart, a 15-foot-high wood and steel arch that framed the stage fell forward instead of backward. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. And, despite the dramatic opening, the Constitution center has become a great success.
Torsella says the decision to move on was a difficult one, but that he was so pleased with the final product. “I am prouder than I could ever say to have been part of creating this remarkable place—proud because of what the center will do for this region, but prouder still because of what it will do for the nation, and citizenship, for generations to come.”
The Stengel Angle
With about 80,000 visitors per month, the center is approaching its first birthday, and its new president has a bold vision for its future. Rick Stengel says he left Time magazine in part because he “got tired of—what’s that famous phrase in journalism—afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted...I wanted to do something else. And the mission of this place is important in our society in terms of teaching people about what it means to be an American, what role the Constitution played in creating our society, and inculcating the idea of citizenship.”
Stengel believes his mission is to raise the visibility of the place, “to make people want to come here because they’ve heard about it in a certain way, and make people want to come back after they’ve been here once or twice.” Since starting in March, Stengel has expanded the center’s programming with a speaker series, debates, and featured celebrations of monumental achievements in democracy. During the month of March, Women’s History Month, visitors watched a living history performance of Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Despite the assortment of programming, marketing the center is a tricky task, Stengel says. “If I advertised it as a place that revolves around a 217-year-old piece of parchment, that’s not an easy sell,” he says. “So you market it in all different ways. I think you market it with a little bit of emotionalism about what it means to be an American—it’s a time that has some real significance for good and for ill. People don’t know a lot about the Constitution, and they certainly don’t know how, in a million different ways, the Constitution did and does affect their daily lives.”
Although the initial $185 million to get the center built and on its feet came mostly from giants like Comcast and the federal government, it’s the $6 entry fee, and support from partners like the University of Pennsylvania and the Annenberg Center, that will keep it running. “Our budget is made up of a 50/50 split between earned income and money that we raise,” Stengel says. “The model is in part predicated on bringing in more and more visitors and programming that people pay for. We’ve actually made a lot more money since we opened than we expected from people renting the place out for private functions,” Stengel explains. “But half of what we need has to be raised, so a big part of my job is fund raising. So the economic model is to continue to earn revenue through the exhibition, the gift shop, and the center-run Delegates Restaurant and Citizens Cafe. But the main part is fund raising from individuals and foundations.”
At the end of February the museum announced it had been awarded a grant of $1 million from Lincoln Financial Group that will support the development of the Center’s inaugural changing exhibit, Lincoln and the Constitution, which will open at the center in July 2005. This 2,500-square-foot exhibition will feature more than 100 images, historical documents, and artifacts from the National Archives and the Lincoln Museum. This is the kind of contribution Stengel says will keep the museum relevant and successful.
The Nature of Democracy
When visitors exit the Kimmel Theater after Freedom Rising, many flock to the American National Tree that bares the faces of 100 individuals who have significantly affected U.S. democracy. The likes of Mickey Mouse, Muhammad Ali, Ryan White, and Annie Moore (the first immigrant to enter the United States) make up the interactive patchwork quilt. For Barszczewski, the exhibit has the most impact because it is the citizens of the United States that give the Constitution a pulse.
The faces on the tree will continue to change. Exhibits based on heated issues will continue to evolve. To accommodate the nation’s development, there have even been empty glass panels left on the wall for amendments that may someday become part of the Constitution’s framework.
It needs to keep changing, Stengel says, because that’s the nature of democracy.
