Welcome to FIRE’s New Philadelphia Headquarters! (PHOTOS)

For more than 10 years, FIRE has been headquartered in the historic Curtis Center in the heart of Philadelphia. Today, we’re excited to announce that FIRE has finally settled into our new home at One Washington Square, which—fittingly—overlooks even-more-historic Independence Hall.

To say FIRE outgrew our previous office is quite an understatement! Our relocation was born of necessity, as FIRE has evolved over the years from a small group of dedicated First Amendment advocates, into a proven, multi-faceted organization of dozens. We have been quite busy as of late. After vastly expanding many of our programs, our staff has tripled in size since FIRE’s beginnings in the Curtis Center.

The new office—with its contemporary feel and large open floor plan—affords FIRE opportunities that were simply not possible in our old space. At twice the size of the former headquarters, the new office incorporates numerous collaborative work areas, allowing staff to work on projects together. The space also includes a dedicated sound-proof studio with a four-point lighting installation for conducting professional video interviews, marking an expansion of our Public Awareness Project.

We’ve also incorporated flexible work spaces for our world-class FIRE interns. Through the years of running our successful internship program, we have seen firsthand how allowing interns to move and control their workspaces gives them the means to communicate ideas amongst each other more efficiently and to fully engage with their projects. With that in mind, we specifically designed their workspace so that this summer, when we welcome the 2016 intern class, it will be entirely up to them how they work—whether they sit or stand, work together or work alone, or even where they choose to move their workstation within the office. We know that when student activists are given this type of flexibility, they exceed expectations.

FIRE would like to thank all of our supporters who made this expansion possible.

We are thrilled to move into our new headquarters and look forward to growing into it in the years to come. This office, and the new tools it provides, will allow our staff to do even better at what they already do best: defend liberty on America’s campuses.