Machinery Hall, Centennial Exposition 1876, Philadelphia
The "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, in the city of Philadelphia" was opened on the 10th day of May in the year 1876. As it was more commonly known, the "Centennial Exposition" was America's first successful World's Fair. The fair celebrated the one hundred year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and America's start as a sovereign nation. It was at the Centennial Fair that Americans were given a chance to display their knowledge and power in the growing industrialized world.
Long gone were the days of single-structure exhibitions. The Philadelphia organizers peppered Fairmont Park with exhibition buildings and attractions, giving visitors much to look at. At the fair the United States sought to establish itself among the major countries of the world. The major buildings of the fair: Memorial Hall, the Main Building, Machinery Hall, Horticultural Hall, the Women's Pavilion and several national and state pavilions provided a suitable architectural framework for the exhibited materials. The most popular of these buildings was Machinery Hall, built to house the country's technological wonders of the past century (Snyder).
Machinery Hall, "four times the space of St. Peter's" in Rome (Bruce, 150) covered an area of 558,440 square feet (including its annex). Fairmont Park was at the time the "largest and finest urban park in America" (Mass, 16). After selecting the site for the fair, the Centennial Commission held a competition for the design of the exhibition buildings offering awards to the top ten entries. The first prize was given to Collins & Autenrieth of Philadelphia whose design estimated construction ...
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...usiasts to see what it was like to visit the fair first hand. Though these images are not always completely historically correct, they serve as an excellent tool for learning about the fairs.
Bibliography
Bruce, Edward C. The Century: Its Fruits and its Festival. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1877.
Maass, John. The glorious enterprise: the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and H. J. Schwarzmann, architect-in-chief / John Maass. New York. American Life Foundation. 1973.
Snyder, Iris. (February 2000) "The Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, 1876" University of Delaware, Special Collections Department http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/fairs/cent.htm(25 February, 2001).
Trout, Silas E. The Story of the Centennial of 1876. Lancaster, 1929.
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Westcott, Thompson. A Centennial Portfolio. Philadelphia, T. Hunter, 1876.
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 changed America in enormous ways. Probably the most prominent being that it directly changed America's and the world's perception of America and our capabilities. Not only was it the first in America, but the Chicago World's Fair propelled America...
Findling, John E., Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions, 1851-1988 New York: Greenwood Press, 1990 Komendant, August, "Post-Modern on Habitat", Progressive Architecture 1968 March vol.49, p.138-147
Although the Chicago World’s fair of 1893 only lasted 6 months, it had an enormous impact on the city of Chicago, its people, and indeed the entire country. Up until that point in its history, the US had done nothing on the scale of the world’s fair, and was regarded as a country of barbarians and cowboys by much of the world, especially Old Europe. The fair was a perfect way for the US to disprove this. In building the fair, they would be placed in direct competition with France, who had built a magnificent fair only a few years before. If Chicago could at least build a fair on par with the Paris fair, it would prove to the world that the US was a cultural, military and political force to be reckoned with. Because of the fair’s gigantic scale, it became a microcosm of the conflicts and the tenor of the times. In effect, the fair was the turning point between the old Victorian days and the modern era, technologically, culturally, politically, and in the hearts of the people of the US and the world.
The World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, was an event celebrating American invention and innovation on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. The fair was open for six months and was visited by an estimated 27.5 million people. The Fair was a major influence on the spirt invention associated with the Gilded Age, but it was also influenced by the spirit of the time.
In 1901 Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) designed the elaborate hall for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held in Saint Louis in 1904. This short-lived structure deserves attention, as it was a main focus of the fair and an important benchmark in its designer's career.
In 1893 a world fair was held in Chicago Illinois to celebrate the 4thcentenniel of Columbus discovering the Americas. The exposition displayed grand buildings with beautiful architecture, hundreds of exhibits ranging from exotic tribes of Africa, to new inventions, expertly constructed landscape, and astounding attractions such as the first Ferris wheel. The fair lasted for six months and had over 27 million visitors, including ¼ of the American population.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1876. Print. The. Moody, John. The.
Mintz, Sidney W. Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions into Eating, Culture, and the Past. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. [secondary source]
Kaufmann and Fabry Co. Official Pictures of A Century of Progress Exposition The Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation. Chicago, Illinois. 1933.
The “White City” was a vast collection of architecture and arts that were put on display in the year 1893. The Chicago World Fair, also called the “White City”, was a major event in American history that impacted America’s culture, economic, and industry. The Chicago World Fair was held to honor Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The real reason why it was made was to proudly have back their wealth and power. Larson said, “the tower not only assured the eternal fame of its designer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel but also offered graphic proof that France had edged out the United States for dominance in the realm of iron and steel…”(15). To accomplish this, architects led by Daniel Burnham and John Root made numerous buildings and beautiful scenery
As I entered the Philadelphia Museum of Art unsure of where to find an artifact that held a significant relationship to Philadelphia, I came across a large and brightly lit maroon room; with dozens of paintings among the walls that were featured in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. While observing the historical pieces in the room, one painting stood out from all the others in the room. Hanging eight feet by six feet six inches was Thomas Eakins most famous painting: Portrait of Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic). The large scaled painting depicts a vivid scene of Dr. Gross himself teaching a team of five doctorate
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.
...IA 1895 - 1969." The American Institute of Architects N.p. Web. 4 Jun 2011. .
This black and white postcard represents the inner courtyard of the Petit Palais, which was established at the expense of the Palais de l'Industrie that had been erected for the 1855 Exposition. Architect Eugène Hénard (1849-1923) proposed the destruction of the Palais De l'Industrie. In 1894, Hénard received one of three first prizes (others were granted to Charles Girault and Edmond J.B. Paulin) in the competition for the general plan of the Exposition. The final layout of the fair incorporated his suggestion of cutting a new street from the Champs-Elysees through the Palais de l'Industrie which would cross the Seine River on a new bridge and then terminate at the Dôme des Invalides (Wolf, 29). Although some Frenchmen opposed the destruction of the Palais de I'lndustrie, which was seen as one of the most conspicuous landmarks on the Champs Elysées and served as an exhibition hall at the time, many agreed it was obsolete. According to Richard Morris Hunt, a prestigious American architect, "from the very day it began to rise above the ground the critics cried against the destruction of one of the finest perspective views that Paris afforded, and condemned this heavy and compact mask that was being interposed between the Champs Elysées and the dome of the Invalides" (Hunt, 31). Hénard recommended replacing the Palais de l'Industrie with two buildings, Palais des Beaux-Arts and Palais des Lettres (Wolf, 29). From Hénard's idea came the establishment of the Grand Palais, Petit Palais, and the Pont Alexandre III.
Richards, C.B. Reports of the United States Commissioners to the Universal Exposition. Google eBook: U.S. Government Printing Office: 1891.