At City Council's October 26 hearing, Drexel put the cost of running the Academy of Natural Sciences' public programs at $7.7 million last year, against $3 million in revenue. Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas framed the gap as about $4.4 million a year. The figure attached to the building at 19th and Race is about $150 million in deferred maintenance, according to one estimate.

The second number is the one that decides what happens on Logan Circle. The William Penn Foundation has already offered to cover Drexel's museum subsidy for a year while a longer-term plan comes together. Drexel's own testimony made any return to the Parkway conditional on the building's capital needs being addressed. And that building, open since 1876, is not on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

The museum's last public day was Sunday, September 27, and its official closing date was September 30. Dinosaur Hall, The Big Dig, Outside In, and the dioramas now appear on the Academy's site as "Currently Unavailable." The Committee on Legislative Oversight resumes its hearing this coming Monday, November 16, at 10 a.m. Here is where the money and the building stand going into it.

The figures each side brought to Council

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer's account of the October 26 hearing, these are the numbers Drexel and Council members put on the record:

The first five rows describe a deficit that recurs every year, and philanthropy has already offered to cover it for one year. A William Penn spokesperson told the Inquirer before the hearing that the foundation had received no response to its offer and "remain[s] open to conversations."

The last row is a different kind of money. Thomas asked whether Drexel would want to reopen in the same location if the city and private donors offset the $4.4 million annual loss. Richman answered that it "would certainly be a possibility" if new resources created a sustainable model "and allowed us to address some of the capital expenditures that are required for that building." Her earlier statement on Drexel's behalf set the same condition. Drexel welcomes any viable long-term solution, "including one that would allow the Academy to remain in its current Parkway location, provided its substantial capital needs are addressed."

Richman also testified that a two-year strategic study funded by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage assessed the building, collections care, research capacity, and museum economics, and that it "explicitly" recommended closing the museum. Academy board president Suzanne Biemiller told Council the Academy would like a feasibility study commissioned.

The building at 19th and Race has no local historic protection

If the building is what makes reopening hard, its legal status matters as much as its repair bill. Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, told Council the Academy building belongs on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Listing would require the Philadelphia Historical Commission to review any proposed changes to the property. "Right now, that protection does not exist, and so the Academy is vulnerable to being irreparably altered or demolished," he said, as reported in the Inquirer's rundown of six issues from the hearing.

The Alliance has retained an architectural historian to prepare a nomination. Steinke also said the building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, which would open it to federal and state grants, "a source of potential support that the Academy could be pursuing now."

The Inquirer reported that Drexel plans to move the collections out of the building. Drexel has not said what it plans to do with the building if that happens.

The building's future also turns on a contract. The September 2011 affiliation agreement makes Drexel financially responsible for the Academy, and it says Drexel "shall cause sufficient funding to be made available to meet any operating deficits, liquidity needs, and budgeted capital improvements." The two institutions are renegotiating that agreement. As of the October 26 hearing, a source close to the talks told the Inquirer that no further sessions were scheduled.

Who is due at Council on Monday

The October 26 session was recessed, not closed. On October 29, Council took what the Inquirer called the "exceedingly rare step" of issuing subpoenas for testimony at the November 16 session. Council has not issued one since before Kenyatta Johnson became Council President in 2024.

These are the people involved, according to the Inquirer's report on the subpoenas and its earlier hearing coverage:

• Antonio Merlo, Drexel president. He has been subpoenaed, and a Drexel representative confirmed to Council that he will appear.
• Patricia "Trish" Wellenbach, deputy mayor for strategic and philanthropic initiatives. She has been subpoenaed. Since September she has served as a senior adviser temporarily leading the Academy, on loan from the city. The Parker administration says she will testify.
• Isaiah Thomas, committee chair. He signed the subpoenas on behalf of Councilmembers Jeffery Young Jr., whose district includes the museum, and Nina Ahmad.
• Nina Ahmad. She introduced a resolution to create a task force exploring a reopening.
• David L. Cohen. Drexel says it has been working with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Cohen, whom the governor designated as a facilitator.

The Save the Academy Coalition has been the most visible public presence through all of this. About 120 supporters attended its news conference outside City Hall before the October 26 hearing, where it called for an "independent interim commission to safeguard the academy and secure its next 200 years," according to the Inquirer. Coalition organizer Isa Betancourt told the crowd, "We hope [this] marks the beginning of both accountability and a brighter future for this institution." Billy Penn reported that the coalition's petition had passed 121,000 signatures as of an October 6 update, and the coalition's own site lists the November 16 hearing.

What still operates from 19th and Race, and what has moved

The galleries are closed, but the collections are not going anywhere for now. In their September 1 message, Drexel and Academy leadership said stewardship of more than 19 million specimens, fossils, and archives will be the near-term focus. That includes more than 73,000 type specimens and a Library and Archives of more than 75,000 titles, with rare volumes dating to 1529. The same message said work would continue on finding "new and financially sustainable opportunities" to put parts of the collections on public display.

Some programs have found new homes. WHYY reported that Women in Natural Sciences, known as WINS, has separated from Drexel and the Academy. The Philadelphia Education Fund is its fiscal sponsor and Fairmount Waterworks is offering program space. Organizers plan to nominate a new cohort in January.

For Logan Square households who held Academy memberships, these are the dates and options that apply this month:

1. Membership options. The Inquirer reported that members can request a prorated refund for the unused part of their membership or adjust its tax-deductible portion. The Franklin Institute, a block away, is honoring Academy memberships through their expiration dates.
2. Friday, November 13, 4:30 to 8 p.m. The Franklin Institute hosts "FunFest: A Night at the Museum."
3. Through Sunday, November 15. The fall window for Lights Out Philly, the bird-safe lighting pledge the Academy promoted, runs August 15 through November 15. Participants are asked to cut unnecessary lighting from midnight to 6 a.m. during migration.
4. Monday, November 16, 10 a.m. City Council's Committee on Legislative Oversight resumes its hearing.

The Native Plants on the Parkway garden in front of the building, part of the Botany of Nations project, is also listed on the Academy's site as "Currently Unavailable."

Robin Gordon's background includes city-planning study, and the questions on Monday's agenda are the kind that shape the Parkway for decades: who pays for a building, who decides what happens to it, and what protects it. If you own or rent near Logan Circle and want a calm, direct conversation about how civic decisions like this one play out around your block, The Robin Gordon Group is glad to talk it through. Contact Robin.