American Swedish Historical Museum
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| Established | 1926 |
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| Location | Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°54′22″N 75°10′52″W / 39.906°N 75.181°W |
| Website | www.americanswedish.org |
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen Christina of Sweden to settlers of New Sweden.
During 1926, the Swedish-American committee of the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was formed. Noted author and historian, Amandus Johnson was elected to be its president. From this activity grew a committee to plan ways to preserve the memory of the New Sweden colony which dated to 1638. The New Sweden Tricentennial Association was formed which commissioned and published Swedes In America, 1638–1938, a work of historical research which was edited by Adolph B. Benson and Naboth Hedin (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 1938).
Soon, the first national campaign was underway to erect a Swedish Museum in Philadelphia. On June 2, 1926, Sweden's Crown Prince and future King Gustaf VI Adolf placed the Museum's cornerstone. In the fall of 1928, Christian von Schneidau painted the Museum's entrance-hall ceiling and wall murals. The formal public dedication of the Museum took place on June 28, 1938. This event was set to coordinate with the 300th anniversary of the Swedish arrival on the Delaware shores. Swedish Prince Bertil and Crown Princess Louise made up the royal party that dedicated the Museum.
The building's design is based on Ericsberg Castle, a 17th-century manor house in Södermanland, Sweden. The architect, John Nydén, a Swedish-American from Chicago, combined Swedish and American elements by modeling the exterior arcades on those of Mount Vernon. The copper cupola is a copy of the one atop . The Museum has 12 permanent galleries displaying a broad and interesting collection combining history and culture. Three of the Museum’s 12 galleries are devoted to the history of the New Sweden Colony established in the Delaware Valley in 1638. The museum provides a wealth of information about this often unfamiliar period in history. Other galleries, ranging in style from Art Deco to International, concentrate on more recent Swedish contributions.
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