Philadelphia’s America250 time capsule is scheduled to be unearthed on July 4, 2276.
The capsule is planned for burial in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Its scheduled opening date is exactly 250 years later, on the 500th anniversary of the Declaration.
This project turns the 250th anniversary into a message for a future generation. Philadelphia was selected because of its central role in the American founding: the Continental Congress met there, and Independence Hall is closely associated with the Declaration and Constitution.
The capsule’s opening date should not be confused with the next national 100-year milestone, the tricentennial in 2076. The capsule is intended to remain sealed until the quincentennial in 2276, five centuries after 1776.