By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Plans for a new museum in Philadelphia devoted to the Revolutionary War are inching forward, following a vote today by a City Council committee.

Council’s Rules Committee gave an initial okay to a zoning change for the southwest corner of Third and Chestnut Streets.  The change will allow a nonprofit organization to move ahead with its plans for what is to be called the “Museum for the American Revolution.”

The group’s attorney, Neil Sklaroff, says the museum will feature a vast storehouse of material:

“We have General Washington’s tent, called ‘The First Oval Office,’ that was used by him at Valley Forge and elsewhere.  We have his silver drinking mugs, Madison’s dress vest, a whole host of things — along with documents.”

The group is about halfway toward its $150-million fundraising goal, and Sklaroff says they hope to begin construction next year.

He says it would be the first museum in the country devoted exclusively to the Revolutionary War:

“While some museums have portions of their facility describe the American Revolution, we believe we will be the first that is totally dedicated to that, and certainly the one with the most expansive collection and story to be told.”