Plan to remove William Penn statue, renovate Welcome Park in Philadelphia withdrawn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A plan to renovate Philadelphia's Welcome Park, including removing the William Penn Statue, has been withdrawn, the National Park Service said Monday.
The NPS said the plan for the park located at Second and Walnut Streets was released "prematurely."
"Independence National Historical Park has withdrawn the review of a draft proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park and closed the public comment period. The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned.
"The National Park Service (NPS) remains committed to rehabilitating Welcome Park as the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Upon completion of all the necessary internal reviews, the park looks forward to engaging in a robust public process to consider options for refurbishing the park in the coming years," NPS wrote on its website.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro posted on X that his team has been in contact with President Joe Biden's administration on Monday about the proposal.
"I'm pleased Welcome Park will remain the rightful home of this William Penn statue — right here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Penn founded," Shapiro posted.
Initially, the NPS invited the public to submit comments for the new design of the park before withdrawing it.
The site of the park is located at Penn's home, the Slate Roof House. It's also named for the ship, Welcome, which transported Penn to Philadelphia.
The design of Welcome Park was funded by the Independence Historical Trust and completed in 1982.
