Philadelphia’s Portal is staying put, at least for now.
The 8 foot circular screen in the City Hall courtyard, which runs a silent live video link between Philadelphia and cities around the world, was set to be taken down this week. On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced that an unnamed donor had stepped in with funding to keep it in place.
The Portal arrived in Philadelphia in October 2024, installed at LOVE Park ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. After a run of vandalism, it was moved to the City Hall courtyard in April 2025, where it has run ever since. Visitors stand in front of the screen and wave, dance, and gesture at strangers standing before matching screens in cities including Dublin, Ireland, Lublin, Poland, and Piaui, Brazil.
The reprieve came just in time. The City Hall permit was set to expire October 31, and organizers had said the Portal would have to leave Philadelphia by Halloween without new funding or a new home. CBS Philadelphia reported organizers had failed to raise the $30,000 they needed to keep it, and KYW reported it was set to be dismantled and moved to Miami.
Parker did not name the donor, say how much was given, or say how long the new arrangement lasts. In a statement at Thursday’s news conference, she said, “The Portal is our front porch to the world, and our welcome never closes.”
What happens next is still being worked out. Nicolas Klaus, CEO of Portals.org, told the Philadelphia Inquirer his organization is now negotiating with the city on potentially preserving the Portal at City Hall long term, under a public-private partnership in which the city would serve as host and a private patron would supply the money. No permanent deal has been announced.
For now, the screen stays where it is, in the City Hall courtyard, and the window to the world stays open.
