Everything about Sesquicentennial Exposition totally explained
The
Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of
1926 was a
world's fair hosted in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the
United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the
1876 Centennial Exposition
The honor of hosting this celebration was awarded to Philadelphia in 1921. Initial grand plans were scaled down tremendously by the time the fair opened. The original director of the exposition, Colonel David C. Collier, resigned in protest over these budget cuts. His replacement, Captain Asher C. Baker, retired due to illness days before the festival opened, leaving things in the hands of E. L. Austin. Baker died less than two weeks later.
The senior draftsman for the design of the exposition buildings was a young
Louis Kahn, later a world-renowned architect, then working under City Architect John Molitor.
The fair opened on May 31st, 1926, and ran through November on grounds bounded by 10th Street, Packer Avenue, 23rd Street, and the
U.S. Navy Yard (Terminal Avenue) in
South Philadelphia. Originally known as
League Island Park, these grounds are now occupied by
FDR Park,
Marconi Plaza,
Packer Park Residential Neighborhood, the four facilities of Philadelphia's massive
South Philadelphia Sports Complex (
Wachovia Spectrum.
Wachovia Center,
Lincoln Financial Field, and
Citizens Bank Park), and the
Philadelphia Eagles training complex which now occupy that portion of the grounds which from 1933 to 1993 were the site of Philadelphia Naval Hospital (demolished 2001).
Organizers constructed an 80 foot replica of the Exposition's symbol, the
Liberty Bell, covered in 26,000
light bulbs, at the gateway to the festival. Sesqui-Centennial Stadium (later known as Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, and after 1964,
John F. Kennedy Stadium) was built in conjunction with the fair. Also on display at the exposition was the
Curtis Organ, still one of the largest
pipe organs in the world. In 1926 the first bridge (later renamed
Benjamin Franklin Bridge) spanning the
Delaware River between center city Philadelphia and
Camden, New Jersey, was built in anticipation of the attending crowds.
Key speakers at the opening ceremonies were
Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg,
Secretary of Commerce and future
President Herbert Hoover, and Philadelphia Mayor
W. Freeland Kendrick.
The fair drew a much smaller crowd than anticipated (about 10 million people). It ended up unable to cover its debts and was placed into receivership in 1927, at which point its assets were sold at auction.
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