Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to close its historic landmark building for a year

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced Friday that it would be closing its historic Frank Furness/George Hewitt-designed building on North Broad Street for the next year. PAFA is undertaking renovation work that “focuses on upgrading the HVAC system,” according to a news release.

PAFA will close the building to the general public beginning July 8, a spokesperson said. Plans call for it to “reopen to the public in the fall of 2025, in advance of the building’s 150th anniversary in 2026,” according to the announcement.

The museum/school has been undergoing a series of broad institutional changes, including the elimination of its degree programs and changes to its buildings. Earlier this year leaders discussed a $10 million replacement of the HVAC system.

Back then, PAFA president and CEO Eric G. Pryor also spoke of a larger project of renovations, repairs, and addressing deferred maintenance, with a price tag of about $25 million. It was unclear Friday whether that project was still happening. A PAFA spokesperson said no further details were available.

Pryor said several months ago that PAFA had received an anonymous $4 million “angel gift” to help pay for the new HVAC system and that another $1,128,477 toward the project had been raised. “But we’re going to need to find additional angels,” he said at the time.

He also spoke of selling naming rights to the building at Broad and Cherry Streets, which PAFA refers to as its Historic Landmark Building. “Someone could put their name on it for the right price. It is an amazing opportunity,” he said.

While the building will be closed to the public as of July 8, it will remain open for summer camps until renovations begin Aug. 10. During the closure, PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building will remain open with “a robust slate of exhibitions and public programs,” the announcement stated.