The purpose of the Declaration Station is to help create connection to the 250th anniversary and engage Philadelphians in conversation about what matters to them. PHILADELPHIA250 selected three multidisciplinary teams, selected through a public call, to develop designs based on the following core requirements:
The winning design will be selected in early 2024, with the Station making its public debut in the summer.
The Dreamstoop initiative places small-scale, community-built platforms in every neighborhood to serve as collectors of the city’s dreams for the future. The project brings together artists, makers, and neighbors to construct and embellish Dreamstoops for each of Philadelphia’s 66 wards. In 2026, neighbors will parade with the stoop component of their installation to form a colorful block-scale exhibition of community pride on Independence Mall.
The Declaration Station is made whole by a collection of individual parts, smaller-scale “Satellites” that can be dispatched throughout Philadelphia to engage its communities. The Satellites are designed as a gestural framework, creating voids for the community to fill, as part of a city-wide campaign that seeks to create a unifying tapestry when the satellites come together again to form the Station.
The Declaration Station is a collection of elements that serve as the setting for mobile block parties, accessible educational conversations, and grand celebrations. Visitors leave their mark by sharing what Philadelphia means to them, and their contributions are live-captured, digitized, and displayed. Contributions shape a vivid and growing tapestry of the city’s history and identity, evolving into the 2026 celebration.