Fast Facts

Opening Fall 2008

•Founded in 1976, Please Touch Museum is dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing learning opportunities through play. Please Touch is the first museum in the nation designed for children ages seven and younger.

•On December 15, 2005, Please Touch broke ground on an ambitious restoration and expansion of Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. One of America's first examples of Beaux-Arts architecture, Memorial Hall was constructed to be the Art Gallery of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. This National Historic Landmark offers three times more space for exciting exhibits.

•Memorial Hall is owned by the City of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park Commission. Please Touch Museum agreed to an 80-year lease on February 14, 2005.

•Please Touch plans to officially open its new home at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park in Fall 2008.

•The project cost for expanding and relocating Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall is $88 million, which includes construction, exhibit design and fabrication, and the costs associated with moving the museum’s collections and staff from 21st Street to Fairmount Park.

•Memorial Hall was designed by architect Herman J. Schwarzmann and built by contractor Richard J. Dobbins. Construction began on July 6, 1874 and was completed by opening day of the Centennial, May 10, 1876, at the cost of $1.5 million.

•The architectural firm of Kise, Straw & Kolodner has developed the plans for restoration and new construction at Memorial Hall. Overseeing the construction are Please Touch Museum and NorthStar Advisors. Contractors are Keating, Bittenbender & McCrae, AJV.

•Memorial Hall is 365 feet long, 210 feet in width, and 59 feet tall, with a 150-foot dome sitting on top. Please Touch will occupy all 156,000 square feet of Memorial Hall.



•The exterior façade of Memorial Hall is granite and the interior is cast iron and stone. The interior is finished with finely embellished, ornate plasterwork.

•The top of the steel dome is adorned with a 23-foot tall statue of Columbia holding the laurel branch of glory. At the base of the dome sit four figures symbolizing Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Navigation.

•The massive bronze statues in front of Memorial Hall are "Pegasus Tamed by the Muses Erato and Calliope," designed by Vincent Pilz for the façade of the Imperial Opera House in Vienna and purchased by Philadelphian Robert H. Gratz.

•There will be more than 250 parking spaces in a newly constructed lot next to Memorial Hall.

•Memorial Hall will have six exhibit zones over more than 38,000 square feet of exhibit space that includes:

°Expanded versions of favorite Please Touch Museum experiences like the Supermarket, the River, and Wonderland.

°Three exhibit areas designed for children ages 3 and under.

°An exhibit dedicated to the 1876 Centennial that will include a large model of the Exhibition fairgrounds, presented to the City of Philadelphia in 1889.

°Classics from the history of childhood in Philadelphia, including the original Rocket Express monorail from the John Wanamaker toy department (1946-1984), the set from the children’s TV show Captain Noah and his Magical Ark (1967-1994), and a seasonal display of the Enchanted Colonial Village (exhibited at Lit Brothers Department Store from 1962-1975).

•A 40-foot interpretation of the Statue of Liberty’s Arm and Torch made out of toys will be created by found object artist Leo Sewell, creator of the museum’s popular Artie the Elephant. The Arm and Torch will welcome visitors in the renovated Great Hall.

•Housed in a 9,000 square-foot addition will be a restored 1924 Dentzel carousel that originally operated at Woodside Park, located less than 10 blocks from Memorial Hall. The carousel contains 52 hand-carved, multi-colored animals and two chariots.

•Visitor amenities include a restaurant, the Kids’ Store offering a wide range of toys, books, games and apparel, and family restrooms.

•Memorial Hall offers a variety of rental spaces. The building can accommodate more than 4,000 guests for a reception and more than 500 for a seated dinner. The exclusive caterer, Max & Me Catering, is currently accepting Memorial Hall event bookings for December 1, 2008 and beyond. For inquiries, please call (215) 409-6639.

•The new museum will have a performance area used by singers, musicians, storytellers, and Please Touch Museum’s in-house Please Touch Playhouse theater.

•The museum’s collection of 14,000 historic toys and other aspects of child life will be prominently displayed in Memorial Hall.