Philadelphia hosted the 1926 Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition, an earlier U.S. independence anniversary.
The world’s fair commemorated the 150th anniversary of the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia was a fitting location because the Second Continental Congress met there, the Declaration was adopted there, and the city served as the revolutionary-era national capital for a time.
The exposition opened on May 31, 1926, and its formal anniversary date was July 4. It also looked back to Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition, which had marked the nation’s 100th anniversary. The 1926 fair was much less successful financially and culturally than organizers had hoped.
America250 again places Philadelphia at the center of national commemoration. Independence National Historical Park preserves Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and other sites connected with the founding era.