Center City District Foundation presents Revisit 1876 in Lits Building

Contact

Leo Manning, 215.440.5500, pr@centercityphila.org

Paul Levy, plevy@centercityphila.org

PHILADELPHIA (June 22, 2026) — Center City District Foundation (CCDF) presents Revisit 1876, a free exhibition that recreates Philadelphia’s historic hosting of the 1876 World’s Fair. In time for the Semiquincentennial celebrations, the exhibition opens on the ground floor of the Lits Building at 8th and Market streets on June 25 and runs through December.

“The Centennial Exposition was a huge celebration of America’s coming of age as an industrial power that aimed to project to the world a reunited, thriving America, though the reality was something less,” said Paul R. Levy, executive director of the Center City District Foundation who has overseen the development of Revisit 1876. “This exhibit tells a more complete story about who was included and excluded in 1876 Philadelphia and serves as a not-so-distant mirror to reflect on Philadelphia in 2026.”

At a time when the U.S. population was only 46 million, the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, the first World’s Fair in North America, attracted more than 10 million visitors from 37 countries to Fairmount Park from May to November. There, visitors marveled at huge new machines and for the first time encountered the typewriter, telephone, popcorn and root beer. They climbed into the arm of the Statue of Liberty, displayed to raise funds for the full monument. Revisit 1876 invites today’s guests to explore the sights, stories and spirit of 1876, connecting historic images and objects to Philadelphia’s current destinations.

The nearly 8,000-square-foot exhibition features four large pavilions that simulate the Centennial’s major buildings — Machinery Hall, Main Building, Horticultural Hall and Memorial Hall. Wall and table graphics feature other buildings and portray the era more broadly, looking at the origins of Philadelphia’s rowhouse neighborhoods, the rise of new modes of transportation and the birth of the city’s tourism industry.

The exhibition also highlights stories of those who were left out: how prominent abolitionist Frederick Douglass was prevented from speaking at the event; how women fought to be included in the official narrative and exhibits; and how factory workers and laborers, who built the fairgrounds, were just beginning to organize to reshape workplace conditions.

“We at Drexel University, are so proud and pleased to bring our historic and collections-based expertise to this partnership with CCDF, ISA and Brickstone. We are in an incredible moment to reflect on national anniversaries and their meaning. This exhibit serves as a kind of visual and engaging prompt for that kind of reflection, both for Philadelphians and visitors alike,” said Rosalind Remer, Ph.D., senior vice provost for library, collections & archives at Drexel University and founding director of the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships.

Centrally located in the exhibition are displays featuring more than two dozen artifacts from the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel University, including souvenirs from the 1876 exposition, historic toys, historic photos and replicas of Centennial exhibits. Artifacts include:

• One of three remaining original 3-foot terra cotta models of the Statue of Liberty made by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (c. 1876) during the Centennial;
• An original wood and cardboard Centennial Commemorative Medal Set (1876) by Philadelphia Ornamental Wood Co.; and
• Replicas of Apparatus in Alexander Graham Bell’s exhibit at the Centennial, courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center.

“We are delighted to host and support this exhibit in the historic Lits Building and help animate Market East during all the events of 2026,” said Mark Merlini, managing partner of Brickstone Realty’s Philadelphia office, which donated space for the exhibition.

Revisit 1876 is supported by Connelly Foundation, Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, Aker Family Charitable Trust, Five Below, Philadelphia Parking Authority, AT&T, Brandywine Realty Trust, Eugene Lefevre, Gie Liem, Poor Richard’s Charitable Trust, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, Urban Engineers Inc., IBEW- Local 98, Eastern Regional Council of Carpenters, Gilbane Building Company, Michael & Sandra Dean and Hether & Don Smith. The project team for Revisit 1876 includes exhibit design by ISA, curation by Drexel University Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships and Atwater Kent Collection, fabrication by Art Guild and video production by Moltoduo. Additional donations to support the staffing of the exhibition can be made at supportccdf.org.

“We enthusiastically supported both the planning and the construction of this exhibit,” said Tim Durkin, vice president for grantmaking at the Connelly Foundation and the administrator of the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial. “Local philanthropy made a major priority of commemorating our nation’s 250th anniversary and this look back to the 1876 Centennial, our 150th anniversary, helps us all have a deeper appreciation for what we have accomplished and what more we still need to achieve.”

Revisit 1876 will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting June 25. Admission is free. More information about the exhibition can be found at Revisit1876.com.

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Center City District Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports initiatives that improve the quality of life and make downtown Philadelphia unique and engaging. Find us at www.supportccdf.org.

Center City District, partner to property owners and downtown stakeholders, is the steward and advocate for a clean, safe and thriving Center City Philadelphia. Find us at www.centercityphila.org.