The Birthplace Of The United States Is Crumbling, And No One Seems Inclined To Fix It

“Independence National Historical Park [is] the fourth-most-visited national park in the country. It welcomed 4.6 million pilgrims last year alone — ahead of Yellowstone, Yosemite or Zion (and the Statue of Liberty, too). Independence Hall is one of only 11 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in the United States. It’s Philadelphia’s (democratic) Versailles. Yet the curation” — not to mention the physical upkeep — “is more on par with a half-abandoned cathedral in a random village in the South of France. How did we get here? There’s plenty of blame to go around.” – Philadelphia Magazine