May 20, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Preservation activists will create a mobile exhibit on the President's House display, above, which includes a documentary about creating the site and the ongoing effort from the Trump administration to remove it.
The President's House exhibits in Independence National Historic Park will get a mobile display which includes a documentary about its creation after it received a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The trust released its annual list of America's most endangered historic places on Wednesday, which includes the Old City site. The President's House, which honors the nine people enslaved by George Washington during his presidency in Philadelphia, has been the subject of an ongoing conflict with the Trump administration.
Each selectee receives a one-time, $25,000 grant from the trust. The funds will be awarded to the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, which will produce the mobile, digital exhibit to be displayed near the site. The documentary, which will play continuously, will be about the establishment of the President's House and the effort to remove and alter the exhibits earlier this year.
The trust said the display and documentary will offer a "consistent and immersive storytelling experience" despite what may happen with the original exhibits. Officials expect to complete the project before this summer, when tourists descend on the city for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The National Park Service did not immediately return a request for comment.
The President's House opened in 2010 as a joint project between the federal government, city and activist group Avenging the Ancestors Coalition. In January, NPS removed some of the panels in compliance with an executive order from May 2025 that called for removing displays that "disparage Americans past or living." All that remained was the names of the nine enslaved people etched into a wall and the open air structure of the President's House.
Philadelphia officials then filed a lawsuit against the federal government, which said that the exhibits could not be changed without the approval of the city, citing various agreements. The panels were returned in February following a ruling from U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe. However, the Department of the Interior and NPS have since filed an appeal and the case remains ongoing.
Amid the legal back and forth, partners including the Preservation Alliance and the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition have formed the President's House/Slavery Memorial Alliance to lead community activism around the exhibits. The group plans to maintain the panels at the site and recognize other federal properties where people were enslaved to educate the public.
The list of America's 11 most endangered historic places debuted in 1988 and has brought public support to more than 350 sites across the country. This year's selectees centered around the ideology that all people are created equal, in honor of the semiquincentennial. The grants will be put toward building and site repairs and creating new exhibit materials such as the digital display.
“Even as the American people prepare to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, consequential historic places are at risk, some through intentional erasure, others from short-sighted development plans, and still others from deterioration or neglect,” Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement. “This year, we honor our Declaration of Independence and the living power of its aspirations by highlighting at-risk sites where the fight for equality happened and by recognizing the heroes whose commitment, resilience, and moral courage can inspire us today to continue to build a more perfect union.”
