New Mural Will Help Increase Visibility of Holocaust Memorial Plaza in Philadelphia

The extensive Holocaust memorial at 16th and Arch in Center City tells the story of one of the worst chapters in human history, those who perished during that horrific time, and those who survived, writes Asha Prihar for Billy Penn.

The Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is managed by the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and maintained by Center City District. It opened in its current form five years ago.

The intersection has been the site of one of the country’s oldest Holocaust memorials for much longer. Nathan Rapaport’s “Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs” was commissioned by Holocaust survivors who moved to the region and other community leaders in early 1960.

A $9 million renovation project added many new elements to the memorial, turning it into an outdoor museum of sorts. The revamp came with an app that helps visitors dive deeper into the stories presented at the site.

Next year, Mural Arts Philadelphia, in partnership with the foundation, will install a mural on the side of the Verizon building.

The addition will be, “the first large-scale publicly-commissioned mural dedicated to the Holocaust,” according to the two organizations.

Read more about the new mural will help increase the visibility of the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza in Billy Penn.

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