Visitor Information:
Atwater-Kent Collection
Location: Not at this time
Philadelphia, PA
info@philadelphiahistory.org
Phone: 215.843.1713
Hours: Not at this time

Drexel University is stewarding the collection of the former Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, which closed in 2018. Leading the effort, Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships is conducting a multiyear evaluation of the Atwater Kent Collection (AKC) of over 133,000 works of art and other objects—reflecting 350 years of Philadelphia history—toward Drexel’s longer-term goal of making the AKC broadly accessible to the public.

The Collection comprises fine arts and applied arts, such as Charles Willson Peale’s 1789 portrait of Benjamin Franklin, dramatically seated before a fork of lightning, and George Washington’s grand writing desk, together with a multitude of other historically significant objects relating to the Philadelphia region, a celebrated example of which is the pair of gloves worn by Joe Frazier when he won the world heavyweight boxing title in 1970.

Visitor Information:
Leonard Pearlstein Gallery
Location: 3401 Filbert Street
URBN Annex
Philadelphia, PA 19104
gallery@drexel.edu
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery hosts rotating exhibitions committed to exhibiting regional and experimental art in all contemporary mediums.

Drexel’s Design Arts Gallery was founded in 1986 as part of the Nesbitt College of Design Arts with a generous contribution from the Pearlstein family to honor their father Leonard Pearlstein. In 2011, again with generous support from the Pearlstein family, the gallery moved to its new location in the URBN Annex as part of the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design opening February 2012.

Visitor Information:
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection
Location: URBN Center
3501 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
fhcc@drexel.edu
Phone: 215.571.3504
Hours: Monday - Friday; 9 a.m.–3 p.m or by appointment

Heralded as a “world-class collection of fashion and textiles” by the Wall Street Journal, the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection (FHCC) contains more than 20,000 garments, textiles, accessories, and other related materials. The FHCC preserves a wide range of fashion history- from late renaissance textiles to Parisian Haute Couture to international high fashion from the mid-20th century onwards. The FHCC contains works by many of the most celebrated designers of the past such as Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Charles James, and Elsa Schiaparelli as well as more recent examples by Issey Miyake and Ralph Rucci.

The James G. Galanos Archive celebrates the legacy of Philadelphia-born James Galanos, considered by his peers to be one of the greatest and most creative designers of the 20th century. This unique resource, a gift from the James G. Galanos Foundation in 2016, includes over 700 ensembles and includes thousands of related materials such as sketches, swatches, and photographs.

Visitor Information:
The Frank Fox and Polish Poster Collection and the Kenneth F. Lewalksi Polish Posters Collection
Location: URBN Center
3501 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Hours: By appointment only.

The Frank Fox Polish Poster Collection at Drexel University and the Kenneth F. Lewalski Polish Posters Collection together represent one of the largest surveys of Societ-era Polish posters in an institution in the United States.

The Frank Fox Polish Poster Collection was acquired by the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design in 2007 from Dr. Frank Fox, an alumnus of the University and professor emeritus of European history at West Chester University. This collection contains around 2,500 posters from the mid to late 20th century covering topics from culture, theater, circus, music and Solidarity.

The Kenneth F. Lewalksi Polish Posters Collection, acquired in 2009, consists of approximated 140 posters focused around the themes of jazz, theater, film and the Polish circus.

Visitor Information:
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Location: 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Hours: Monday–Friday: 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m
Weekends and Holidays: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
AdmissionAdults (Age 13 and above): $22 ($20 online)
Children (Ages 2–12): $18 ($16 online)
Drexel Dagon card holders and members free.

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, founded in 1812, is America’s oldest natural history museum. For over 200 years, the Academy has carried out its mission to encourage and cultivate the sciences, exploring the remarkable diversity of our natural world and sharing these discoveries with the public. In addition to its role as a natural history museum, the Academy is a world-renowned research institute that holds in the public trust an estimated 18 million biological specimens and one of the finest natural science libraries of its kind.

In 2011, an affiliation between the Academy and Drexel University was formed, drawing on the strengths of both institutions. The affiliation enhances the exhibits and programming that the Academy is able to offer, while providing the Drexel community with unprecedented access to the Academy’s vast collections and researchers as well as a world-renowned faculty for Drexel’s Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science.

Visitor Information:
The Legacy Center
Drexel University College of Medicine
Location: 2900 W. Queen Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19129
archives@drexelmed.edu
Phone: 215.991.8340
Hours: Monday–Friday: 9 a.m.– 5 p.m., by appointment

Drexel University College of Medicine’s Legacy Center is the repository for the records of the College’s predecessor institutions: The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania/ Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first degree-granting medical school in the world for women; and Hahnemann Medical College/ University, the first successful American homeopathic medical school, and later, a leader in cardiovascular research.

The Center collects, preserves and interprets these materials, making them accessible to a diverse and international audience. The special collections expand on the history of women in medicine internationally and homeopathy from its earliest days in the United States.

Visitor Information:
Drexel University Archives and Special Collections
W. W. Hagerty Library, Lower Level
Location: 33rd and Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
archives@drexel.edu
Phone: 215.895.6706
Hours: By appointment only.

The Drexel University Archives and Special Collections, a unit of the Drexel University Libraries, acquires, preserves and provides access to materials of enduring value that document the history of the university. The University Archives serves the university community by collecting, preserving and making available institutional records that document the founding, growth and function of the university. The Archives also serves as an educational resource encouraging the use of its collections for researchers and the general public. In addition to institutional records, the University Archives contains personal papers of the Drexel Family and a rare book collection including several incunabula.