Editing Centennial Exposition (section)

=== Memorial Hall ===
[[File:Memorial Hall Phila.jpg|thumb|Memorial Hall]]
[[File:Edward L.Wilson and W.Irving Adams, Italian Dept. Memorial Hall Annex.jpg|thumb|The Italian Department of Memorial Hall Annex]]
The Art Gallery building (now known as [[Memorial Hall (Philadelphia)|Memorial Hall]]) is the only large exhibit building still standing on the exposition site. Constructed of brick, glass, iron, and granite in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|beaux-arts style]], it was the largest art hall in the country when it opened, with a massive {{cvt|1.5|acre|ha|adj=on}} footprint and a {{cvt|150|ft|m|adj=on}} dome atop a {{cvt|59|ft|m|adj=on}}-high structure. The central domed area is surrounded by four pavilions on the corners, with open arcades to the east and west of the main entrance. It provided {{cvt|75,000|sqft|sqm}} of wall surface for paintings and {{cvt|20,000|sqft|sqm}} of floor space for sculptures. The exposition received so many art contributions that a separate annex was built to house them all. Another structure was built for the display of [[photography]].<ref>''Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition'', pp. 101–103.</ref>

Memorial Hall was designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann, who basically adopted an art museum plan submitted by Nicholas Félix Escalier to the {{Lang|fr|[[Prix de Rome]]|italic=no}} competition in 1867–69. Memorial Hall became the prototype, both from a stylistic and organizational standpoint, for other museums such as the [[Art Institute of Chicago]] (1892–1893), the [[Milwaukee Public Museum]] (1893–1897), the [[Brooklyn Museum]] (1893–1924), and the [[Detroit Institute of Art]] (1920–1927). Libraries such as the [[Library of Congress]], the [[New York Public Library]], and the [[Free Library of Philadelphia]] also emulated its form. Finally, Memorial Hall was the architectural inspiration for the German capitol, the [[Reichstag building#History|Reichstag building]] in Berlin.<ref>Filler, Martin, ''Makers of Modern Architecture'', Volume 1, New York: The New York Review of Books, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-59017-227-8}}, p. 226</ref>

After the exposition, Memorial Hall reopened in 1877 as the Pennsylvania Museum of Art and included the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art. In 1928 the museum moved to Fairmount at the head of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and in 1938 was renamed the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]]. Memorial Hall continued to house the school, and afterward was taken over by the Fairmount Park Commission in 1958.<ref>''Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition'', p. 105</ref> The museum school is now the [[University of the Arts (Philadelphia)|University of the Arts]]. Used for a time as a police station, the building now houses the [[Please Touch Museum]],{{sfnp|Beers|1982|p=462}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/memorial_hall_update/ |title=Memorial Hall Update |access-date=2007-01-17 |last=Resinger |first=Kelly |publisher=Please Touch Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206165647/http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/memorial_hall_update/ |archive-date=2007-02-06}}</ref> which includes a faithful 20x30-foot model of the exposition grounds and 200 buildings.