Scouts moving statue from Philly home
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Boy Scouts of America group in Philadelphia removed a well-known Scout statue from outside its headquarters Friday in preparation for its move to a new home as part of an agreement that resolved a discrimination dispute with the city.
The City of Philadelphia owns the property and has allowed the nonprofit Scouts group, the Cradle of Liberty Council, to use the headquarters rent-free for the past 85 years.
After the Boy Scouts barred gays from membership, the city unsuccessfully sought to have the chapter evicted for violation of Philadelphia’s anti-discrimination policies.
In May, officials announced the group would vacate its home in return for $825,000 to pay for improvements it made to the building.
Workers were busy outside the headquarters Friday morning, building a frame around the statue to prepare it for shipping.
The statue will now be cleaned and preserved, according to Tom Harrington, CEO of the Scouts group, the Cradle of Liberty Council. Harrington said in a statement that the group hopes to install the statue at its new headquarters, once one is selected. In the meantime, the group’s operations will be run out of its Valley Forge office.
The council’s staff will leave the Philadelphia headquarters by June 30. A Scouts’ supply store in the building will close by Oct. 31.