Constitution Ctr. gets donation, architects The Center -- part of plans to reshape Independence Mall, home of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall -- is designed as an interactive museum dedicated to explaining and exploring the U.S. Constitution. Yesterday, in front of an enlarged copy of the Constitution, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell announced at a City Hall press conference that the project had received its first corporate donation, a $1 million gift from First Union Bank. Groundbreaking is set for Constitution Day, September 17, 2000. Charles Connolly, regional president of First Union, said he hoped the gift would set the trend for other area and national corporations. A Philadelphia native, Connolly said the center is important to him because "I want people to come here [to Philadelphia] and visit." The selection of Harry Cobb as principal architect was announced by National Constitution Center President Joseph Torsella Jr. Among the projects designed by Cobb's renowned firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, is the acclaimed U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. New York-based architect Ralph Appelbaum -- responsible for the interior of the Holocaust Museum -- will design the exhibition halls. Torsella characterized the pair as a "dream team, like having [baseball sluggers Mark] McGwire and [Sammy] Sosa playing for you at the same time." -- Binyamin Appelbaum
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