Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Architects
- Paul Philippe Cret Julian Abele Zantzinger, Borie & Medary Horace Trumbauer
- Year
- 1876
- Style
- Greek Revival
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Museum of Art was chartered in 1876 for the city's Centennial Exposition, though its landmark building atop Fairmount hill, at the northwest end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, wasn't completed until 1928. Designed by Paul Philippe Cret, Julian Abele, Horace Trumbauer, and the firm Zantzinger, Borie & Medary, the museum now holds more than 240,000 objects spanning European, American, and Asian art.
the building
A temple complex on a hill. The main building takes the form of a Greek Revival temple complex set on Fairmount hill overlooking Eakins Oval, giving the Centennial-era museum a monumental classical facade, decades before construction was actually finished in 1928.
Julian Abele's hand in the design. Julian Abele, one of the first prominent African American architects, was among the designers credited on the building, working alongside Paul Philippe Cret, Horace Trumbauer, and the firm Zantzinger, Borie & Medary.
The Perelman Building annex. Opened in 2007 across the street from the main building, the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building holds more than 150,000 prints, drawings, and photographs, along with 30,000 costume and textile pieces and over 1,000 modern design objects.
the style
The museum's main building pairs Greek Revival massing — a temple-like form suited to a civic institution founded for the 1876 Centennial Exposition — with detailing from its actual completion in 1928, the product of multiple architects and firms working across five decades of changing plans.
More on Greek Revivalthe architect
The museum building carries the credits of several architects and firms: Paul Philippe Cret, a Beaux-Arts-trained French-American architect; Julian Abele, one of the first prominent Black American architects; Horace Trumbauer, whose firm employed Abele; and Zantzinger, Borie & Medary.
significance
The museum has grown well beyond its original building, now administering the nearby Rodin Museum, the 2007 Perelman Building annex, and the historic Fairmount Park houses Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove — all owned, along with the main building, by the City of Philadelphia.
nearby
- Fairmount Water Works
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- Barnes Foundation
- Cira Centre
- United States Post Office-Main Branch
- Pennsylvania Railroad Office Building