Philadelphia's America250 time capsule is planned to be unearthed on July 4, 2276.
The capsule is scheduled for burial in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Its planned opening date is exactly 250 years later, on July 4, 2276, when the United States would mark the 500th anniversary of the Declaration.
Philadelphia is especially significant because it hosted the Second Continental Congress and is home to Independence Hall, where the Declaration was debated and adopted. The city is therefore a central location for semiquincentennial commemorations.
The capsule's dates connect two anniversary milestones: the semiquincentennial in 2026 and the quincentennial, or 500th anniversary, in 2276. The plan also gives a future generation a direct link to the nation's 250th-anniversary observances.