4502 x 2990 px | 38,1 x 25,3 cm | 15 x 10 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
2011
Informations supplémentaires:
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. 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. 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. 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.
