Philadelphia hosted the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition, the 150th-anniversary predecessor to America250.
The world’s fair celebrated the 150th anniversary of the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition. It opened on May 31, 1926, and continued through November on grounds in South Philadelphia.
The exposition included a large replica of the Liberty Bell covered with 26,000 light bulbs. It also helped prompt construction of the bridge later known as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which connected Philadelphia with Camden, New Jersey.
The term sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary. That makes the sequence of major commemorations clear: Philadelphia hosted the Centennial Exposition in 1876, the Sesquicentennial Exposition in 1926, and the nation observed the Bicentennial in 1976 before America250 in 2026.