Special exhibit “Welcome to the World’s Fair: Philadelphia 1876” opens March 27

A century after a handful of colonists declared their independence from Great Britain, the growing United States celebrated its success at the democratic experiment in grand fashion.

The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition was a world’s fair that demonstrated the young American republic’s innovations in science, agriculture, industry and the arts. The 6-month long event attracted prominent speakers from across the country, including the Republican candidate for president, Rutherford B. Hayes. 

With the United States celebrating 250 years of the American experiment, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums will remember the 150^th anniversary of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition with the special exhibit “Welcome to the World’s Fair: Philadelphia 1876.”

The exhibit will share the history of the exposition, discuss its impact on American culture and society and display artifacts from the exposition. Accompanying the Centennial exhibit, the museum will also feature a gallery of artifacts from its collection from the American Revolution in homage to 250 years of American independence.

“As we celebrate America 250, this exhibit is interesting because it gives us a look into how people have celebrated U.S. independence in the past, and it gives us a glimpse into a grand spectacle that we don’t really see much anymore,” said Kevin Moore, Hayes Presidential curator of artifacts.

This exhibit will be on display through Wednesday, June 30, 2027. Access is included with regular admission. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums members are admitted for free. For hours and admission, visit rbhayes.org.

“Welcome to the World’s Fair” will feature a display case that was used in the 1876 exhibition to display items from Japan, one of many countries that attended the world’s fair. The case was one of three that Rutherford B. Hayes purchased for $74.50 each from the exhibition’s Japanese display. One was sent to the White House, and two were sent to Spiegel Grove.

The one in the exhibit is the only one that Hayes Presidential knows to still exist, and it is part of Hayes Presidential’s collections. During the world’s fair, it displayed artwork from Japan, including silk screens, porcelain and lacquer items, which included many pieces in the form of birds.

“People were especially drawn to the style,” Moore said. “They had never really been exposed to Japanese culture, so they were intrigued.”

In the special exhibit, the case will display commemorative items, including earrings, a cane, medals and plates, that visitors bought at the exposition.

The world’s fair lasted from May 10 – Nov. 10, 1876, at Fairmount Park, and it had 250 buildings dedication to technology, art and invention. There were halls dedicated to machinery, agriculture, natural resources and other topics.

“America wanted to celebrate its progress, its coming of age,” Moore said. “They made it a point that they wanted to invite the European powers. Part of it was to show that we had arrived as a global power.”

The typewriter debuted there. Thomas Edison was there, showing his advances with the telegraph and his electric pen, which was the precursor to the tattoo pen. Soda fountains were very popular stops during the hot summer at the fair.

Each state had its own building, and Ohio’s building is the only one still standing. Today, it houses the Fairmount Park Conservancy, a non-profit organization that raises money to help maintain Philadelphia parks.

The Centennial Exposition drew about 10 million people, who visited from across the world. On Ohio Day, when Ohio Gov. Rutherford B. Hayes, who was running for president, gave a speech, 120,000 people attended.

The exposition was loosely modeled after the first true world’s fair that took place in 1851 in London.

“It really made an impression,” Moore said. “In the United States in 1871, Congress allotted funds for a centennial celebration. They wanted to create something that rivaled that.”

The United States hasn’t had a world’s fair since 1962, when there was one in Seattle.

“I think a lot of people will be surprised to know that world’s fairs still exist,” he said. “They happen every five years.”

 There was one last year in Osaka, Japan. The next one will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2030.

Hayes Presidential is America’s first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. Hayes Presidential is located at Spiegel Grove on Buckland Avenue.

For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like Hayes Presidential on Facebook and follow on Instagram at rbhayespres and on Bluesky at rbhayespres.bsky.social.

Pictured above: The torch of the Statue of Liberty was on display at the exposition. The statue was still being constructed at the time of the event.