Battle lines at Valley Forge
By Nancy Petersen
Inquirer Staff Writer

Residents of Lower Providence Township who live next to Valley Forge are feeling like George Washington at the Battle of the Brandywine - completely outflanked.
"It's disturbing how secretive this has been," said Craig Crawford, whose home is next door to the park. "Why wasn't this in a township newsletter? The public is not aware of what's going on, and it seems like it's a done deal."

This anger, verging on rage, is directed at what many neighbors regard as dramatically expanded plans for the proposed American Revolution Center. The privately owned Revolutionary War museum would be the first in the nation to tell the entire history of the war, complete with an extensive collection of artifacts, documents, and other material.

Under the new plan, the complex, to be built on 78 privately owned acres within the official boundaries of Valley Forge National Historical Park, would include a 131,000-square-foot museum, a three-story hotel, a tavern and restaurant, a conference center, a dormitory for visiting scholars, a small campground, and other amenities.

"This is Valley Forge, for crying out loud," said Don Naimoli, a former officer of Girard Trust Bank and a longtime park volunteer. "What went on over there is still a national symbol, and we need to protect that heritage."

... Park Service officials and planners say that promises are one thing, but that an ordinance would be law. And they worry that the center's proposed ordinance is so loosely worded it would permit:

No limits on the size of the hotel or conference center.

Millions of square feet of commercial space, including a stadium, a shopping center, a 130-foot-high observation platform, and cabins for camping.

Paving over 70 percent of the site for buildings, parking lots, sidewalks, plazas, courtyards and recreational amenities.

"As currently written, the proposed ordinance opens the door to extensive development of the site," park superintendent Mike Caldwell wrote in a letter to township officials.

Center officials pledge that no more than 15 percent of the site would be paved over, and that at least 75 percent would be kept as permanent open space, though there are no plans for a conservation easement to guarantee those promises, said Thomas M. Daly, president and chief executive officer of the American Revolution Center.

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I grew up in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County with Valley Forge State Park as my playground. I was living at Valley Forge Apts when it became a national park. A few of the changes, some road closures within the park, were a little hard to accept but were for the good.

I come back to the area at least once a year, usually more often and always spend time at the park. I cannot imagine hotels, taverns, dormitories and campgrounds in the park. A museum is one thing but it appears they are trying to use the permit for that for even more development. I am totally against any commercial development within the park. The NPS should purchase the privately owned land to protect it forever.

I hope all those who love our history, not just Valley Forge, will ralley against the commercialization. I hope the developers meet the same fate Disney did when they tried to commercialize Virginia Civil War battlefields.