Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia

The Philadelphia History Museum (also known as the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent) was founded in 1938 as Philadelphia's city history museum. The museum was established through the efforts of Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson, Frances Wistar, president of the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, and A. Atwater Kent, radio pioneer and inventor. In 1938 Wilson and Wistar approached Kent to purchase the recently vacated Franklin Institute building and create a history museum for the City of Philadelphia. They were joined in their efforts by the president of the University of Pennsylvania, the director of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the president of the Franklin Institute. Kent agreed and...