The America250 time capsule planned for Philadelphia is scheduled to be opened on July 4, 2276.
The capsule is intended to connect the 250th anniversary of American independence with the nation’s future 500th anniversary. It was prepared for burial in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, exactly 250 years before its planned opening.
Philadelphia was chosen because it was central to the founding-era history commemorated by America250. The city hosted the Second Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, and Independence Hall remains one of the best-known sites associated with those events.
The planned opening date is not the 300th anniversary in 2076. It is 2276, which would mark 500 years since the Declaration of Independence. Long-term time capsules often use anniversaries to create a direct link between people who preserve historical records and people who will interpret them centuries later.