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Centennial Exhibition of 1876
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 Philadelphia
was astir with the excitement of anticipation as a whole nation, well
prepared by months of publicity, waited. The day was May 10, 1876,
and in a few hours the President of the United States and the Emperor
of Brazil would open in Fairmount Park the great International Exhibition
to celebrate the centennial year of American independence.
The day had begun with the ringing of the city's bells. Then the rain
had stopped, though the sky remained leaden. With nothing to deter
them now and with months of waiting at an end, thousands streamed
to the park, 100,000 to wait, as the sun appeared, for the nine o'clock
opening of the Exhibition gates. As they waited they could see, close
by, the vast Main Exhibition Building. Beyond were the towers and
expanse of Machinery Hall, the Gothic "barns" of Agricultural
Hall, the arabesque architectural intricacies of Horticultural Hall,
the art galleries of Memorial Hall, and twenty-four state and many
other buildings-236 acres of exhibits and exhibition grounds.
In choosing a site for the celebration, the United State Congress
had most appropriately selected the city where American independence
was proclaimed and where the Constitution, which made a nation of
thirteen colonies, was written. Philadelphia was stretching at the
seams now to accommodate the visitors which history had brought it.
More than eight million admissions, from this country and abroad-the
population of the United States was forty million-were counted at
the fair during the six months it was open, from May 10 through November
10. It was perhaps the greatest extravaganza ever staged in the State
of Pennsylvania.
The idea of an international exhibition was not original with those
who planned the celebration, as such gatherings can be traced at least
to the trade fairs of the Middle Ages. Most likely, however, the advocates
of the Exhibition had in mind the fairs which had been held since
the middle of the nineteenth century, especially the Great Exhibition
in London in 1851, inspired by Prince Albert. Yet the notion of combining
a world's fair with a national celebration of independence was unprecedented,
and the idea was successfully transformed into the first such event
held in the United States.
The first to suggest an international exhibition in Philadelphia for
the anniversary seems to have been a college professor in the Midwest.
His idea was readily embraced by several civic-minded citizens and
the city fathers of Pennsylvania's largest city. The General Assembly
of the Commonwealth and the Franklin Institute joined with the city
government in petitioning the federal government, and in 1871 the
United States Centennial Commission was created by act of the Congress.
This commission was charged with planning "an International Exhibition
of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine." Members
of the body were appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant following
nomination by the governors of the states and territories. Joseph
R. Hawley, of Connecticut, was named the president. Representing Pennsylvania
was Daniel J. Morrell, of Johnstown, a U.S. representative who had
introduced into the Congress the act that created the commission.
Pennsylvania's alternate was the railroad magnate Asa Packer.
Not only were there historical reasons for holding America's celebration
in the city of Philadelphia, there were practical advantages as well.
Fairmount, one of the oldest and largest municipal parks in the country,
was an ideal spot for such a celebration. In 1873 some 450 acres of
the pastoral grounds of Fairmount Park were set aside for the Centennial
Exhibition. At the same time a proclamation by President Grant announced
the Exhibition to the world; and in the summer of 1874 the Chief Executive,
at the direction of the Congress, invited the governments of foreign
nations to participate.
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