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1876 World Fair in Philadelphia
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Memorial Hall
The massive domed building in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, is the only major structure remaining from the Centennial Exhibition in 1876. Memorial Hall served as the Art Gallery for the fair and was designed to become a permanent museum. The building was commissioned and paid for by the State of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia. The budgeted amount for the hall was $1,500,000 and it cost just $64,000 more than planned.
Although smaller than other major buildings at the 1876 fair, Memorial Hall is massive. Its footprint takes up an acre and a half. It is 365 by 210 feet, and 59 feet tall, with a 150-foot dome sitting on top. Below the building is a 12-foot deep basement. Perched atop the dome is a statue of Columbia standing 23 feet 6 inches tall. Three arched doorways each 15 feet wide and 40 feet high mark the entrance to the hall. The doors of the archways are made of iron and have bronze panels with reliefs of the coat of arms of each state and territory. The United States coat of arms is in the center. Between the arches are two clustered columns crowned with small statuettes symbolizing Science and Art. Around the base of the dome are four statues, set on the corners, representing Commerce, Industry, Mining, and Agriculture.
The main entrance opens to a hall 82 feet deep, 60 feet wide, and 53 feet high. From this room three doors lead into the central hall, which is 83 feet square with a ceiling raised to 80 feet under the dome. To either side of the central hall are the main galleries, each measuring 98 by, 84 feet, and 35 feet high. When the temporary dividers are removed and the galleries join the main hall, they create what was at the time the largest hall in the country. This combined hall can be 287 feet long, by 85 feet wide, enough to hold 8,000 people. Above the hall is a grand balcony promenade 275 feet long and 45 feet wide, from which one can overlook the beautiful northern quadrant. Overall the building provides 75,000 square feet of wall surface for paintings and 20,000 of floor space for sculptures.
Raised on a six-foot platform overlooking the Schuylkill River, Memorial Hall housed the first international art exhibit in the United States. Participating countries contributed so many works that even this massive structure could not showcase them all.
Means of egress from this part of the structure were by means of the main foyer at one end, and on the main dining room side, and at the other end of the bar through the passageway leading to the Broadway Lounge. A closed balustrade about 40” high, separated the Caricature Bar area from the main dining room.
“Cleveland Museum of Art: Building,” Cleveland Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Web. 25 March, 2014.
Lin's work, unlike most previous military monuments, rejects the emphasis on heroics in favor of a poignant, contemplative, apolitical design which conveys an almost unbearable sense of loss. Simple, graceful, and abstract, the design specified two 246.75 foot long walls of polished black southern India granite, set below grade and connected at a 125 degree angle.2 Each segment of the wall is composed of 70 panels. At their intersection, the walls are 10.1 feet high and they taper down to a height of 8 inches at their extremities.3 The largest panels have 137 lines of names.4 The smallest panels have just one line. Each line consists of five names, which were sandblasted into the polished surface by hand, rather than cut into it with machine tools.5 Currently, the monument wall lists the names of 58,175 members of the armed forces who were confirmed killed or listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War.6
One of the jewels of University Circle, Cleveland's cultural district, Severance Hall is located on the corner of East Boulevard and Euclid Avenue and is famous all across the country for having exquisite architecture, as well as extraordinary sound in its main concert hall. Despite the deteriorating economy during the Great Depression, construction began in 1929 and was finally finished in 1931. Since its opening in 1931, the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra has held the majority of its concerts there, and uses Severance Hall as its home. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Severance Hall, including its amenities and appearance, is a major feature in the downtown scene of the city of Cleveland.
...nal Expansion Memorial. Inside the building museum exhibits can be found. It now currently is being preserved by them to remind everyone of a fine example of nineteenth-century architecture. (“Old Courthouse Architecture”)
As the birds are singing their sweet melody, the terrain of Arlington National Cemetery is filled with sadness. Although the brilliant rays of sun are shinning through the thick colossal treetops, there is a chill in the air. While watching the mourners, the feeling of their sorrows is all too real.
When I visited the museum, it had a wide variety of exhibits and artworks. It had two temporary Exhibits. The first temporary Exhibit I had the pleasure of seeing was Peter Max’s 50 Years of Cosmic Dreaming, which is on display from June 10th thru September 11th. Max was born in Berlin, but has lived in China, Israel, and finally the United States. Max was a rising star in the 1960s, with a passion for astronomy, sages and spiritual life. His work is strongly “associated with pop art, neo-fauvism, and abstract expressionism” (Peter Max). Max’s artwork contains multiple United States symbols and cultural icons. Symbols included the statue
The exhibit that I viewed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was one about European Art between the years 1100-1500. This was a series of paintings, sculptures, architecture, and tapestry of the Medieval and Early Renaissance as well as objects from the Middle East. This exhibit was an important part of the history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art because for the first time, Italian, Spanish, and Northern European paintings from the John G. Johnson collection were shown. It gave me a good idea of what the paintings were like in these four centuries and reflected ideas of both the east and the west.
The Vestibule leading to this entrance hall is identical to the entrance of the Temple of Erectheus on the Acropolis of Athens. The statues in the deep niches, carved by Frederick MacMonnies, combine “American idealism with the elegance of Second Empire Style and is in advanced realm by their lack of enframement or paneling.” The vaulted entrance hall, which leads to the grand staircase, is segmented into three aisles and is clad in Iowa sandstone. The arched central aisle has the names of prominent Bostonians inscribed on them.
The Exhibition Hall built by Stephen Kemp, is the oldest and most unique hall on the fairgrounds; it was the first hall to be built (Wynn). Only used “from (1850-1860), the innovation octagon style was used for hou...
Pennsylvania has a wide variety of beautiful historical buildings that reflect many different styles of architecture. They include historical homes, unique covered bridges, government buildings, and breathtaking churches. Some of Pennsylvania’s most recognized examples of great architecture are Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater” and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts located in Philadelphia. However, the one building that I think of when it comes to great architecture is The Pennsylvania State Capitol. The Pennsylvania State Capitol building, located in Harrisburg, is a great example that represents a variety of architectural elements and a rich history.
One of the most sacred places in America is the Arlington National Cemetery. Each year heroes are laid to rest here. Families from across the nation visit Arlington throughout the year to pay respect to their love ones. Many American hero families who visit the Arlington Cemetery may have been mourning at the wrong grave.
...at about 10 million people come to visit this monument every year. Tours every thirty minutes of the capitol building are open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. everyday. For recorded information regarding tours of the Capitol, call 202-225-6827. (AOC.gov)
With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.
The Natural History Museum is extraordinary place to explore and learn. It’s fun and breathtaking. The museum served as an agricultural fairground from 1872 until 1910. The original structure of the building from the 1913 and today’s structure are combined with a blend of many styles. Like a Spanish Renaissance ornamentation in the terracotta trimmings. There is a Romanesque style in the arched windows and the brick walls. The Beaux-Arts tradition is a T-shape floor plan. The building measures 75 feet in diameter with three wings. The Rotunda’s walls are made of Italian marble and the floors have a mosaic tile. The statue in the center of the floor called “Three Muses.” The Rotunda’s dome is 58 feet high with a skylight 20 feet across on top, which has been restored recently into a bright colored stained glass design. The museum had its first grand opening on November 6, 1913 and was called “The Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art. It was opened formally to the public. The museum was joined by other major cultural facilities in the park; the Memorial Coliseum, Sports Arena, Swimming Stadium, California Science Center, California African American Museum and the largest Municipal-Owned Rose Garden in the nation, with a beautiful water fountain in the center.