AmRev Presents: World's Fair Night

For 250 years, Philadelphia has been a home for sparking the nation’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. How did the American Revolution inspire Philadelphia’s art scene in 1776 and set the stage for a world’s fair to remember 100 years later? Kick off the anniversary of the U.S. Centennial Exposition, which opened on May 10, 1876 to commemorate the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park.  

Inspired by The Declaration’s Journey, presented by Griffin Catalyst, join the Museum of the American Revolution and guest experts from The Philadelphia Museum of Art and Historical Society of Pennsylvania for a world’s fair night to celebrate 250 years of city-wide imagination and innovation to preserve landmarks, create art, and build attractions that welcome the world to Philadelphia. This special evening program and reception is themed to Philadelphia’s history of hosting national and global events that, among impacting tourism, traffic, and architecture, have fostered a sense of public curiosity for independence movements around the world since 1776.

This lively after-hours event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a pre-program themed reception with food specials and select Museum access, with a 6 p.m. “toast to the Spirit of ’76!”  by historian Dr. Stephen E. Nepa of Pennsylvania State University. Guests will also be invited to meet partners from local historic sites and archives, some of which were open for the 1876 Centennial Exposition and continue to interpret that event's complex history, from fairground architecture to food history, today.

Hosted by Museum staff, Philadelphia Museum of Art’s David Barquist and Colin Fanning will join Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Justina Barrett and Selena Austin for a roundtable conversation illustrating how the artists and architects, individuals and institutions collaborated in both 1776 and 1876 to build the city’s reputation as a revolutionary center worth re-visiting in 2026.

The evening will conclude with an invitation to view Washington’s War Tent in the Alan B. Miller Theater, a “can’t miss” artifact for generations of visitors since its creation in Philadelphia 1776, 100 years before its first traveling exhibition to Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition in Fairmount Park.

At 8 p.m., Young Friends members are invited to an exclusive History After Hours social event in Cross Keys Café. Learn more about Young Friends memberships for Museum enthusiasts ages 18-40.