$21 Million of State Funds Was Sought for New Allentown Art Museum; $500,000 Was Awarded

July 26, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Allentown Art Museum sought $21 million from Pennsylvania for its new museum.

Perhaps that was a moonshot, but the downtown museum did receive $500,000. The source is the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP.

What that really means is the money comes from taxpayers who have little say in where it goes. The museum can keep asking in future years, of course, and with its connections, probably get millions of taxpayer dollars.

I view the RACP as a slush fund (just my humble opinion, of course), but here’s the official definition:

“The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the design, acquisition, and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects.”

RACP gives out millions of dollars annually to public and private projects. In this case, it’s to help the museum move.

Back in April 2025, the Allentown Art Museum said it would move from its Fifth and Linden location to 10th and Hamilton streets. I don’t have an official figure on what that will cost, but it will be in the tens of millions of dollars.

From a museum statement: “Public funding is expected to cover approximately half of the total project cost, with private contributions making up the remainder.”

So taxpayer will cover half the cost, and don’t be surprised if that amount grows.

Issuing grants requires some choking jargon, so here it is: the taxpayers’ money will “catalyze vertical construction of the Museum,” whatever that means.

Catalyze. Somebody was paid to write this.

The new location will be a few blocks from the Da Vinci Science Center, a boondoggle that took in millions of public funds. I expect the museum to be more successful than the Da Vinci Disaster, which missed attendance projections by a whopping 60%.

Disclosure: I am a fan of the museum and have been a paying member in the past. The issue is the use of public money and the lack of public involvement in the spending of — yes — public money.

Politicians like to pretend that public money is free and unlimited even after our annual budget squabbling in Harrisburg and local school property taxes jumping this year and perhaps indefinitely.

Below is the line item from the RACP announcement of grants: