What would you include on a 2016 Freedom Train?

The Freedom Train 1947-1949 exhibition at the Rosenbach is arranged to encourage visitors to walk a narrow path bordered by panels set in a zig-zag pattern, mimicking the original Freedom Train experience of traveling through train cars mounted with diagonal displays. Our “train” conducts visitors through the triumphs and challenges of the original exhibit, and when visitors …

The DNC Comes to Philadelphia–In 1936

Philadelphia is gearing up for next week’s arrival of the Democratic National Convention and museums across town have been highlighting their historical and political collections. We, of course, have our Freedom Train exhibition, looking at a project that both celebrated American history and raised questions (intentionally and unintentionally) about what freedom means. The Constitution Center …

Freedom Train Exhibit on Track at the Rosenbach!

Our newest exhibit, Freedom Train 1947-1949: Exhibiting America’s Past to Shape America’s Future,  opens next Friday, July 1, and the collections staff has been hard at work on installation. The Freedom Train was a massive traveling exhibition of  over 125 American historical documents, housed in a specially designed train, that crossed the country from September …