Why is a Preservation Trust needed?

Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust is working to engage with more visitors, worshippers, and those curious about Quakerism. To continue to grow and serve our visitors, we must make improvements by creating a more accessible, safe, and open place for an ever-expanding community.

Join us in preserving ASMH by supporting our Capital Campaign!

What is Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust (ASMHPT)?

ASMHPT was established in 2011 in order to sustain Arch Street Meeting House’s two-acre property through preservation and museum programming efforts. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Trust was formed to preserve the meetinghouse and promote it as the premier destination for education and public programs related to both the history and the future of Quakerism.

The site has been in continuous use for 324 years, since Pennsylvania’s Quaker founder, William Penn, deeded the property to Philadelphia Quakers in 1701.

In the early 1900s, the meetinghouse began welcoming the public for education and tourism. While community activities have been occurring for well over a century, it became increasingly clear that the campus needed to consider its future in broader terms - to remove stresses related to maintaining a historic property and welcoming the public to learn about the Quaker faith and practice.

To sustain the property and its legacy for generations to come, the Preservation Trust has taken on the responsibility of conserving the historic building and site, developing resources, marketing, and revitalizing the public education programs and spaces.

Arch Street Meeting House is a pillar of the community.

A recent Partners for Sacred Places study, using metrics established by the University of Pennsylvania School of Public Policy, concluded that ASMH's programs, education initiatives, space sharing, and rentals bring an annual economic impact to Philadelphia valued at over $2,000,000.

In 2023, the meetinghouse had over 52,000 visitors and hosted over 140 rentals and community groups. These educational and programmatic uses of the property illustrate ASMH's immediate positive effects on the City of Philadelphia and confirm ASMH's place as an important landmark.

Museum

Every year, tens of thousands of tourists and other visitors engage with ASMH's exhibits to learn about the early Quaker founders of Pennsylvania and Quakers' involvement in U.S. history.

Now, these exhibits will be updated to explore new stories of how Quakers, past and present, have endeavored to live their ideals and make the world a better place.

Five people standing outdoors in front of a brick building with a sign that reads 'Friend's Food Pantry.'

Community Center

ASMH’s legacy of nearly 200 years of community-based activism led to its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2011.

Early Abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights leaders, and LGBTQ+ organizers found a home at ASMH. Today, Quakers, seekers, and members of the public gather at the meetinghouse for programs, events, and a sense of community.

A group of women, men, and children gathered outside of Arch Street Meeting House with open windows and doors, dressed in early 20th-century clothing.

House of Worship

Since 1804, ASMH has been a place for worship and the gatherings of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia, and Quakers from around the world.

Help Us Make A Better Place For Friends

Arch Street Meeting House (ASMH) strives to engage with more visitors, worshipers, and those curious about Quakerism. To continue to grow and serve our visitors, we must make improvements. Your support of the A Place For Friends Campaign will empower us to create a more accessible, safe, and open space for an ever-expanding community.

Major improvements are needed at Arch Street Meeting House so we can welcome more visitors and students, make the meetinghouse more energy efficient, and be better stewards by ensuring its preservation.

ASMH has engaged some of the best engineers, architects, preservationists, and history professionals in the region to address these important project goals. In anticipation of record visitation, we will complete these projects by 2026 in conjunction with the Semiquincentennial of the United States.

$2,400,000

Overhaul the existing gas-fired steam boiler by converting it to a high-efficiency heating system.

Add air-conditioning to historic spaces and archives to allow for year-round community use and the preservation of historic collection materials.

$1,200,000

Install fire-suppression sprinklers to preserve and protect the meetinghouse as both a National Historic Landmark and a site on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

$250,000

Improve the West Room with better lighting systems that allow for more efficiency and control.

$550,000

Update our indoor exhibits to highlight Quakers' inspired, yet imperfect, past through innovative new displays that use audio and video technology to engage more visitors than ever before.