Projects of this magnitude require visionary thinkers and serious financial support.  Both the vision and the funding came from Robert L. McNeil, Jr., founder and Chairman of McNeil Laboratories and the founder of the Barra Foundation.  Starting in 1966 under the watchful eye of the Barra Foundation, a team of historians was assembled led by editor-in-chief Roy F. Nichols of Penn.  In 1973 when Nichols passed away, the torch was passed to Temple’s Russell Weigley an expert in military history.  The 19 authors who authored the chapters each signed a contract with and were paid by the Barra Foundation.  The goal was to publish the book by the time of the Bicentennial but that date was missed.  The 842 page book finally did come out in 1982 by which time a new final chapter was needed to bring it up to date.  Barra kept its eye on the ball and made it happen. 

Barra’s support for the Remaking of America’s First City:  Philadelphia has provided the basis to get this exciting documentary film project off the ground.  Barra President, Bill Harral, its Chairman Moe Preston and historian/consultants Page Talbott and Rosalind Remer were the principal forces behind the Barra Foundation’s decision to provide a$400,000 grant.  The Foundation continues to engage Page and Ros to work with the film production team on key issues.  The Foundation and the McNeil family have been major supporters of numerous history and cultural institutions and projects in the city and region for decades.  Support for historical scholarship through the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at Penn, for major projects at the Library Company and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and others have been among the Foundation’s major initiatives.   

The Barra Foundation had not previously invested in a documentary film production.  Doing so represented a significant risk.  Obviously, the cost of the project, estimated to be in excess of $5 million, dwarfs the amount of the initial Barra grant.  But their decision to fund at this critical stage represents the Foundation’s entrepreneurial spirit and reflects an increasing awareness of the importance of digital technology to delivery history to the public.  Bill Harral has insisted that the film project engage the major players in the historical community—institutions, collections and academia—and to integrate the film content into academic programs for students at all levels of education.  Bill has been adamant about wanting to make certain that the value of the film isn’t just that people will watch it but will also engage in becoming better citizens with a greater understanding of the history of the place the come from or live in. 

Irrespective of the ultimate shape of the documentary and like the book on the city’s history published 25 years ago, none of this would have happened without the vision, commitment and resources of the Barra Foundation.