- Memorial Hall (Philadelphia)
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Memorial Hall
Home of the Please Touch Museum
Location: West Fairmount Park
4231 Avenue of the Republic
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131Coordinates: 39°58′45″N 75°12′35″W / 39.97917°N 75.20972°WCoordinates: 39°58′45″N 75°12′35″W / 39.97917°N 75.20972°W Built: 1876 Architect: Herman J. Schwarzmann Architectural style: Beaux-Arts Governing body: Local NRHP Reference#: 76001665[1] Added to NRHP: December 8, 1976 Memorial Hall, designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an early example of monumental Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States. Schwarzmann, the chief engineer of the Fairmount Park Commission, also designed the temporary Horticultural Hall for the exposition.[2] The building is located in Fairmount Park, west of the Schuylkill River, at the corner of East Memorial Hall Drive and the Avenue of the Republic.[3] Since October 18, 2008, the Hall has served as home to the Please Touch Museum.
Construction began on 6 July 1874 and was completed for the opening ceremonies on 10 May 1876, at a cost of $1.5 million dollars. President Ulysses S. Grant and other dignitaries presided over the event, which was the first major world's fair to be hosted in the United States.[4] The exterior is finished with granite and the interior is decorated with marble and ornamental plaster. The building is 365 feet (111 m) by 210 feet (64 m) with basement and ground floor, and 150 feet (46 m) tall at the top of the building's most distinctive feature, an iron and glass dome. Surmounting the dome is the 23-foot-tall (7.0 m) statue of Columbia (the poetic symbol of the United States) holding a laurel branch. At the corners of the dome stand four statues symbolizing industry, commerce, agriculture and mining.
Contents
Background
Memorial Hall was designed in a Beaux-Arts style to house the Centennial Exposition's art exhibits. The exposition received so many art contributions that a separate annex was built to house them all. Another building was built for the display of photography.[5]
After the Exposition, Memorial Hall reopened in 1877 as the Pennsylvania Museum of the School of Industrial Art and also served as the first home of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which remained there until 1929. The building was taken over by the Fairmount Park Commission in 1958.[6][7] It also was used for a gymnasium and a swimming pool in both wings. In 1982, the building was being used as a police station.[7][8]
Richie Ashburn viewing
In September 1997, a viewing for former Philadelphia Phillies baseball player and long-time broadcaster Richie Ashburn was held shortly after his death from a heart attack in New York City. Several hundred thousand people mourned his passing as they walked by his casket in the Grand Hall.
Please Touch Museum
The Hall fell into disrepair until 2005, when the Please Touch Museum began an $85-million renovation to convert it into its new home. The museum opened its doors to the public on October 18, 2008.[9] Memorial Hall's eastern lawn serves as the home field for Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, a vintage base ball team which plays by 1864 rules.
Gallery
Renovated Memorial Hall, Spring, 2010
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Southwest vestibule
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Rotunda
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Memorial Hall and Annex
Beaux-Arts doorwayReferences
- Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ "Memorial Hall". Fairmount Park Commission. http://www.fairmountpark.org/MemorialHall.asp. Retrieved August 2010.
- ^ Caviglia, Ryan. "Treasure in the Park". The New Colonist. http://www.newcolonist.com/memhall.html. Retrieved August 2010.
- ^ "History of Memorial Hall and the 1876 Centennial". Please Touch Museum. http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/memorial_hall/history/. Retrieved August 2010.
- ^ Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition, pages 101 - 103
- ^ Gross, Linda P.; Theresa R. Snyder (2005). Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3888-4., page 105
- ^ a b Wainwright, Nicholas; Russell Weigley and Edwin Wolf (1982). Philadelphia: A 300-Year History. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-01610-2.
- ^ Resinger, Kelly. "Memorial Hall Update". Please Touch Museum. http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/memorial_hall_update/. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ "The History of Please Touch Museum" from the museum's official website
External links
Media related to Memorial Hall (Philadelphia) at Wikimedia Commons- "Memorial Hall" U.S. History - Independence Hall Association
- "Memorial Hall". Fairmount Park Commission. http://www.fairmountpark.org/MemorialHall.asp. Retrieved August 2010.
- Listing, drawings, and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
- International Exhibition of 1876 Memorial Hall Philadelphia Buildings
Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1876
- Beaux-Arts buildings
- Buildings and structures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
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