Philadelphia's city history museum, the Atwater Kent Museum (also known as the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia) was created in 1938 when Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson and Frances Wistar, president of the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, convinced inventor and radio pioneer A. Atwater Kent to purchase the historic Franklin Institute building and create a history museum for the City of Philadelphia.

The museum building was designed by notable architect John Haviland and built 1824–26 for the Franklin Institute, founded in 1823 by Samuel Vaughn Merrick. The Atwater Kent Museum now houses more than 80,000 objects related to Philadelphia City History including an estimated 10,000 artifacts from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania art and artifact collection.

Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Known primarily as the location where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted, the building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and United States Constitution were all signed at Independence Hall. The building is now part of the larger Independence National Historical Park and listed as a World Heritage Site.

Independence National Historical Park preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It comprises much of the historic area of downtown (or "Center City") where Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Independence Visitor Center, and the National Constitution Center are located, along with dozens of other historic buildings and educational centers. The park, which covers 45 acres, is administered by the National Park Service.

The national historical park was authorized on June 28, 1948, and established on July 4, 1956. On March 16, 1959, it incorporated the Old Philadelphia Customs House (Second Bank of the United States) which had been designated a national historic site on May 26, 1939. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the Independence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Independence Hall was designated a World Heritage Site on October 24, 1979.