March 20, 2024
Source/Faith and Liberty Discovery Center
The American Bible Society's Faith and Liberty Discovery Center will close three years after opening on Independence Mall. The museum cost $60 million to build.
Less than three years after it opened on Independence Mall, the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center is closing its doors.
The last day for visitors will be Thursday, March 28, and operations will completely cease April 1, the Christian Post reported. The museum, which opened in 2021 and cost $60 million to build, was created by the American Bible Society, a nonprofit that translates Bibles. The closure comes as ABS has faced leadership changes, donor losses and museum revenue challenges.
Tickets purchased for visits after March 28 will be refunded.
"The Faith and Liberty Discovery Center has served as a place of exceptional learning and inspiration since its doors opened," CEO Jennifer Holloran said in a statement to the Christian Post.
A social media post by the center acknowledged a "Goodbye Sale" at its gift shop and noted its last day for visitors.
The American Bible Society has had three CEOs since 2020, plus two interim CEOs who took charge between leadership changes. Christianity Today reported the nonprofit laid off 30 staffers at the end of last year, about 20% of its employees, and lost one of its major donors in 2022.
According to the Inquirer, the center said it was closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and "structural limitations," among other reasons.
A statement of revenue, published on ProPublica, shows that the center only made about $54,000 in ticket sales from July 2021 to June 2022. However, it listed total functional expenses at $11 million.
