Mayor Parker announces the Portal will remain in Philadelphia: 'The Portal belongs here'

PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Cherelle Parker said the Portal will remain in Philadelphia after organizers announced it could move at the end of the month.

The Portal, located in the courtyard at City Hall, is an audio-less livestream camera that connects Philadelphia to other cities around the world. It was first placed in Philadelphia in 2024 and has been a virtual window to several European cities.

What we know:

In an unscheduled appearance at the Portal on Thursday afternoon, Mayor Parker told reporters, "we'll find a way to get it done." Parker said keeping the Portal in Philadelphia will require private public partnerships, adding, "the city won't be able to do it alone."

"Being connected to citizens across the world allows us to affirm that we are part of one community," Parker said in the courtyard of City Hall on Thursday. 

Moments later, the Mayor's office announced the Portal will stay in Philadelphia thanks in-part to a "generous patron" who supported the project. She added that efforts are still ongoing to secure long-term funding.

"For now, it will remain at Philadelphia City Hall, and there are no plans for it to leave anytime soon," Parker said. "This little window in our courtyard has done something big: it brought the world a little bit closer to Philadelphia — and Philadelphians a little bit closer to each other. The Portal is our front porch to the world, and our welcome never closes."

The backstory:

Organizers for the Portal planned to move the structure at the end of the month, after two years in Philadelphia. 

"While its City Hall placement was temporary, the ambition has always been for the sculpture to become a lasting landmark in Philadelphia," organizers wrote on the Portal's website. 

Portal founder Benediktas Gylys said the structure "belongs in Philadelphia," saying the Portal "became a place where human connection could be felt every day." 

PhiladelphiaNews