16 U.S.C. § 407m — Establishment; acquisition of land; property involved

This section authorizes creating Independence National Historical Park and describes what land it covers. The goal is to preserve historic structures in Philadelphia tied to the American Revolution and the nation's founding, for the American people's benefit. After the Secretary of the Interior reaches agreements with the city of Philadelphia and the Carpenters' Company, as section 407n requires, the Secretary may acquire property — real or personal — by donation, donated funds, or purchase, within the areas described below. The park can only be fully established once the Secretary decides enough of this land is owned by the United States. There's a specific condition: the park cannot be established until the United States owns the First United States Bank property, the Merchants' Exchange property, the Bishop White house, the Dilworth-Todd-Moylan house, and the site of the Benjamin Franklin house — plus two-thirds of the remaining described land. The areas the park can include are: (a) A three-block area bounded by Walnut, Fifth, Chestnut, and Second Streets, called "project A," but not including the U.S. customhouse at Second and Chestnut. (b) A memorial thoroughfare or mall running from Walnut Street to Manning Street, part of "project B," plus specific properties on South Fifth Street. (c) The site of Benjamin Franklin's former home, called "project C" — a roughly hundred-foot-wide strip south of Market Street, between Third and Fourth Streets. (d) Land and buildings next to Christ Church, called "project E," plus adjoining land on North Second Street and Market Street. Before acquiring this land, the Secretary must first make an agreement with Christ Church's owners, guaranteeing the property will be physically maintained as a national shrine and can still be used for regular church purposes, without any limits on that use.