The Centennial on Campus: 1876 Ties to Drexel University

America's 100^th anniversary in 1876 culminated with the first large-scale and Philadelphia-based celebration of the country's founding: the Centennial Exhibition, which was the first "world's fair" held in the United States.

And while that event and the centennial anniversary predate the 1891 founding of Drexel University, you can still see their influence on campus today, during the year of America's 250^th anniversary:

• A building on the University City Campus originally served as the official bank of the Centennial Exhibition. Two other buildings were designed by the architect behind the Exhibition's two largest halls.
• University founder Anthony J. Drexel (1826-1893), a notable Philadelphia financier and philanthropist, helped lead planning around public art and finances for the Centennial Exhibition.
• Some of his Centennial art and ephemera, and materials from the Atwater Kent Collection, continue to be cared for by the University.

Here's how to find traces of the 1876 Centennial at Drexel during 2026's Semiquincentennial:

The Centennial National Bank and Paul Peck Alumni Center

Today's Paul Peck Alumni Center at Market Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard originally opened as the Centennial National Bank in 1876. It served as the financial agent bank for the Centennial Exhibition and handled ticket receipts and currency exchanges for visitors.

Since the Centennial, the building has been renovated and renamed, and housed a bank for another seven decades. Drexel purchased it during the 1976 Bicentennial year and officially restored it during a two-year renovation in 1999 that was led by Drexel alumnus Cameron MacTavish '87 from the Voith & MacTavish architectural firm. The building's new name honors alumnus Paul Peck '64, an information technology consultant and philanthropist.

Today, the Peck Center houses administrative offices as well as an art gallery for the Drexel Founding Collection, the University's flagship art collection. Currently, a student-curated exhibition about the Drexel family is on display in what used to be the public-facing area of the bank. The basement, now used for storage, still has the original bank vault and armored doors.

Main Building and Randell Hall

When the University opened as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry in 1891, it was housed in today's Main Building.

Located at 31^st and Chestnut streets, Main Building was designed by Joseph M. Wilson (1838-1902), an architect and engineer who had co-designed the two largest buildings at the Centennial Exhibition. Main Exhibition Hall was the world's largest building at the time (spread across more than 20 acres) and featured displays from more than 13,700 exhibitors from 37 countries. Machinery Hall stood on 14 acres and showcased state-of-the-art machines and industrial technology. Both buildings, like most built for the Centennial, were later demolished.

Wilson later became the preferred architect of the University's founder, responsible for designing buildings for Drexel's family (Anthony's son's mansion, for example), his Drexel & Co. clients (the Reading Terminal train shed) and his business endeavors. Wilson built the Drexel & Co. bank building at 5^th and Chestnut streets from 1884-1885, connected it to the Drexel Building (both since demolished) from 1887-1888, and began working on Main Building from 1889-1891.

Much of the Main Building's exterior and the Great Court inside look the same as they did 135 years ago. For example, the Great Court ceiling and Chestnut Street entrance doors have been restored to their 1891 appearance, and the Chestnut Street entrance is still inscribed with the institution's original name above an intricate archway.

Wilson was a founding member of Drexel's Board of Managers. He later built the University's second building, Randell Hall, which has a similar exterior to Main Building and connects to its eastern side, in 1901.

Centennial Art at Drexel

For generations, Dragons have rubbed the toe of a sculpture for good luck before taking tests, but they may not have known that "The Water Boy," officially known as "The Alsatian Vintner," came from the Centennial Exhibition.

This 1869 bronze sculpture was displayed in Memorial Hall (today's Please Touch Museum) along with other pieces by its artist, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty. Anthony and Bartholdi had both joined the Franco-American Union to raise funds for the monument, which was a gift from France to commemorate the centennial of the countries' Revolutionary War alliance.

Anthony is thought to have purchased the sculpture at the Centennial along with Bartholdi's "Modèle du Comité," a small-scale sculpture sold at the Centennial for about $300 (more than $9,300 today) to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal. Only 50 were made, and Drexel's model is one of only four remaining. Both pieces were later bequeathed to the University.

While "The Water Boy" remains in Main Building, "Modèle du Comité" was temporarily moved to the Lits Building for the Revisit 1876 exhibition, a collaboration between the Center City District Foundation and Drexel's Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships. Revisit 1876 will be open from June 25-Dec. 26, and objects and ephemera are available for viewing in the online collection portal.

Many other items from the Centennial can also be seen during this 2026 Semiquincentennial year, though they did not come from the founder:

For example, the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel, the collection of the former Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent now stewarded by Drexel, has a variety of items from the Centennial, from a wooden commemorative plaque of Main Exhibition Hall to an earthenware mug to a glass slipper from the Women's Pavilion. These objects (and more from the Centennial, 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition and 1976 Bicentennial) are currently displayed in Exploring National Anniversaries Through the Atwater Kent Collection at Drexel, a student-curated exhibition at Hagerty Library on campus, supported by Campus250. Other objects will be displayed in exhibitions across the city, including at the First Bank of the United States.

The Founder's Centennial Connections

The University's founder was one of the most prominent, yet private, financiers in America's Gilded Age. In "The Illustrated History of the Centennial Exhibition," an 1876 guidebook for the event, he was described as "the well-known banker, and one of Philadelphia's most useful citizens."

After growing his father's Drexel & Co. currency brokerage firm into a multinational private banking house, Anthony preferred to stay out of the limelight, even turning down a Secretary of the Treasury position in the cabinet of President Ulysses S. Grant, a longtime friend. Anthony donated often but anonymously to educational, health, religious and social organizations, and rarely allowed public recognition of his philanthropy, civic engagement and Drexel & Co. success.

The Centennial, however, was an exception.

In 1872, Anthony was named a corporator of the Centennial Board of Finance, which managed the finances needed for the Centennial Exhibition. Only Drexel & Co. and one other Philadelphia firm were designated the general agents of the Commission for securing stock subscriptions sold to fundraise for the Centennial Board of Finance, according to the Board's governing rules.

As listed in the United States Centennial Commission report, Anthony is one of the few individuals who gave a personal donation to the Board. He is also listed as an honorary commissioner for the United Kingdom at the Centennial.

In 1872 Anthony also became the first president of the Fairmount Park Art Association, which was founded to beautify the newly created Fairmount Park ahead of the Centennial. Known today as the Association for Public Art, it is America's first private, nonprofit civic organization for public art and urban design. He led this group for 21 years until his death in 1893, and more than a dozen statues throughout the city were purchased and installed under his leadership.

It's unknown how often Anthony visited the Centennial Exhibition when it was open from May to November in 1876. His personal copy of the official guidebook sold on the Centennial Exhibition grounds can be found in Drexel University Archives. But it's not surprising that he would have attended the country's most prominent celebration. After all, he was personally and professionally involved in its preparations; it was held near his West Philadelphia home; and his friend President Grant came to Philadelphia to officially open and close the Exhibition.