The National Park Service on Monday retracted its plan to remove the William Penn statue as part of rehabilitating Welcome Park in Philadelphia, Pa., three days after it was announced that the landmark sculpture “would be removed and not reinstalled.”
“Independence National Historical Park has withdrawn the review of a draft proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park and closed the public comment period,” the park service said in a news release. “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.”
In addition to the Penn statue, the Slate Roof house model, the site of Penn’s former home, will also stay in place.
Following the proposal’s withdrawal, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro (D.) posted on X that he had spoken with the Biden administration throughout the day “to correct this decision.”
“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 said.
The park service announced on Friday that it would open the rehabilitation proposal to public input in order to “provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors” of Welcome Park, according to a previous statement. Until it was scrapped, the proposed plan involved “expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia and was developed in consultation with representatives of the indigenous nations of the Haudenosaunee, the Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.”
Penn, who founded Pennsylvania in 1681, was known for treating all Native Americans fairly as a Quaker. Named after the ship that brought Penn to America over 340 years ago, Welcome Park was established in 1982.
State house representative leader Bryan Cutler (R.) said removing the Penn statue in favor of Native American representation would be an attempt to erase history.
“Let’s start with the fact that William Penn, his name is literally in our state,” Cutler said. “Attempts to remove him from his home place, I think is unacceptable.”
State house representative Mary Isaacson (D.) thought otherwise, saying Penn cannot be erased from Philadelphia since a separate sculpture of him “sits atop City Hall.” There are also three other statues modeled after Penn in the city.
Park authorities said Monday they are still “committed to rehabilitating Welcome Park as the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026,” even if it doesn’t include the permanent removal of the Penn statue or Slate Roof house.
“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,” the latest statement added.