Memorial Hall in Philadelphia :: Architecture History

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.