The National Park Service (NPS) reversed its decision on Monday to remove a statue of Pennsylvania founder William Penn from Philadelphia’s Welcome Park, which bears the name of the ship on which he sailed to America. NPS claimed that news of the decision to remove the statue was “released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review.”
The sudden reversal came after a public outcry against the initial decision to remove the Penn statue, which was announced last week, and was part of plans to “rehabilitate” the park to provide “an expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia.”
Although the William Penn statue will remain in Welcome Park, NPS stated its intention to continue with the park’s “rehabilitation.”
“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,” the agency said in a statement. “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.”
Many statues deemed by some to be politically incorrect have been removed from public places in recent years, with Confederate memorials being a particularly favorite target. However, statues of other historical figures, such as George Washington, have also come into the crosshairs.
