Pennsylvania State BuildingThomas P. Lonsdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Area: 16,948
Cost: $121,000
Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
THE PENNSYLVANIA BUILDING.—Among the most conspicuous of the State Buildings in size and cost, that of Pennsylvania possessed an added interest because its front was an exact reproduction of that of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and because it contained the famous Liberty Bell. The edifice was in the Colonial style, of rectangular form, two stories in height, and occupied a ground space one hundred and ten by one hundred and sixty-six feet in area. Piazzas twenty feet wide surrounded the building. The outer walls, to the roof line, were of Philadelphia pressed brick. The height of the tower was one hundred and sixty-five feet and all its famous details were complete. The total cost of the building was $60,000. Over the front doors was a sculptured coat-of-arms of the state and at the sides were statues of William Penn and Benjamin Franklin. Groups of statuary representing the Arts and Sciences and mines and manufactures further added to the decoration of the exterior. The main floor contained a reception room thirty-five by fifty-six feet in dimension and there were the usual offices. Many most interesting relics besides the Liberty Bell were on exhibition, including portraits of Penn and his wife, of Washington, Chevalier Gerard, Thomas Johnston. There were exhibited also Washington’s punch bowl, Anthony Wayne’s sword, John Hancock’s chair, Mrs. John Adams’ scarf pin, the watch of Charles Carroll, manuscript of the first prayer offered in congress, in John Hancock’s penmanship, and other relics scarcely less interesting or of less historical value.
Pennsylvania State Building
The next-door neighbor to New York at the Fair, as in reality, is Pennsylvania. It is a stately edifice, surmounted with a clock tower, which reproduces the historic clock tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with the old Liberty Bell. The first and second stories are of Philadelphia pressed brick
and the floors of native marble and wood, while the walls are ornamented with wainscot paneling
from Pennsylvania forests. The front entrance opens into a rotunda thirty feet in diameter and forty feet high. In the rear the exhibition room extends the entire width of the building, its walls ornamented with portraits of distinguished Pennsylvanians. Many rare documents and relics of historical interest are displayed, the grandest of which is the old Liberty Bell, whose brazen tongue proclaimed to all the world the birth of the Republic. There are statues of William Penn and Benjamin Franklin, and many historical portraits, maps and books. There are also allegorical groups of statuary, one indicative of mines and mining, and the other of science, manufactures and agriculture. The architect of the building was Thos. P. Lonsdale.
Pennsylvania State Building
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