Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall, in Philadelphia’s Centennial District of West Fairmount Park, was built as the art gallery for the 1876 Centennial Exposition and is the only major surviving building from that world’s fair. Designed by Herman J. Schwarzman as an early monumental Beaux-Arts work in the United States, it was completed in time for the exposition’s opening and became a symbol of the event, drawing nearly ten million visitors. Afterward it served museum, park, and other civic functions before falling into disrepair. A major restoration returned it to public use, and since 2008 it has housed the Please Touch Museum.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States