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Investigate · Philadelphia 1876

President Grant declaring the exhibition open at the centennial at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, 1876 LCCN2006677401

President Grant declaring the exhibition open at the centennial at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, 1876 LCCN2006677401
2 clues in this photo

1Masonry, not plaster

Memorial Hall: stone at the opening

At the opening ceremony, Memorial Hall shows stone arcades, a dome and statues on the roofline above the crowd.

The questionMemorial Hall was always meant to stay, but what does that say about the 'temporary' halls standing beside it?

2Scale

Crowds give the scale

The crowd at the opening is tiny against the arcade and dome, which gives a direct measure of the building's size.

The questionHow many stone-setters and teams would a hall like this need on the timeline recorded?

Photo: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons

Philadelphia 1876Case file

Same kind of clue, elsewhere

#10Scale · St. Louis 1904Twelve men and a tripod to plant one treeIf one tree took this much effort, what did the palaces take?Masonry, not plaster · London 1851Solid wall at the lower levelWhat is that masonry base, when was it laid, and did it carry an earlier structure?Scale · London 1851Carriages for scale along the north-east frontAt that scale, what did the hauling and erection really require from a horse-powered city?Scale · Paris 1889The Galerie des Machines at true scaleHow was a span that size raised for a single season?Masonry, not plaster · Paris 1889Tile and stone on the Beaux-Arts palaceWhich of these surfaces are plaster and which are fired tile or stone, and has anyone ever tested a fragment?Scale · Chicago 1893The Court of Honor with crowdsAt this scale, what were the crew and horse counts needed for about 200 buildings in about two years?

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