Memorial Hall is the surviving building from Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition that now houses the Please Touch Museum.
Designed by James H. Windrim and constructed in Fairmount Park, Memorial Hall was intended as the exposition’s art gallery. Its grand Beaux-Arts design made it one of the fair’s most prominent structures, alongside temporary exhibition buildings that were later dismantled.
After the exposition, the building continued to serve cultural and educational purposes. It housed collections connected with the Pennsylvania Museum of Art before that institution moved to its better-known building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Please Touch Museum, a children’s museum emphasizing interactive learning, moved into Memorial Hall in 2008. The building therefore links the nation’s 1876 centennial celebration with modern family education and Philadelphia’s continuing role in America’s anniversary history.