From the Schuylkill Expressway you can see its dome peaking above the treetops. Or you may recognize it as the backdrop for many a movie set. Memorial Hall is one of Fairmount Park's most recognizable landmarks and the only major building left from the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

Fairmount Park Chief Engineer Hermann Schwarzmann created this national significant Centennial Art Gallery as one of America's first examples of Beaux-Arts architecture. Memorial Hall's price tag was $1.5 million, quite a sum at that time. Consider though that Memorial Hall was built without wood and was fireproofed. The dedication of this fine building was made by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant at the Centennial. Memorial Hall served as the city's art museum until the Philadelphia Museum of Art opened in 1928.

If you've never set foot in its Great Hall you're missing one of Philadelphia's vast spaces. A whole new generation will soon be introduced to its grand architecture and important history as the Please Touch Museum occupies Memorial Hall in 2007. To the Centennial Model enthusiasts among you, the scale Model of the 1876 Centennial Exposition fairgrounds will stay!