Architectural History of the Museum

Below is a brief architectural history of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The Museum would like to acknowledge the input of two individuals whose research on the Museum's building is an invaluable resource: Shawn Evans, of Atkin, Olshin, Lawson-Bell Architects, who will be partnering with David Chipperfield Architects on the Master Plan, and Ann Blair Brownlee, Senior Research Scientist in the Mediterranean Section and the project liaison for Phase I of the FARE (Future Air-Conditioning, Renovation and Expansion) Project. They are the authors, with Jeffrey Cohen of Bryn Mawr College, of the Museum's recently completed Historic Structure Report, which was supported by a grant from the Heritage Philadelphia Program funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts.

For captions and enlarged views of images on the right, click on a selection.

1887
William Pepper, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, was one of the Museum's most important early supporters. In 1887, the University trustees accepted Pepper's plan to build a new museum that would house artifacts from the upcoming Nippur expedition, as well as future collections from around the world.

1896
A team of Philadelphia architects, Wilson Eyre, Jr., Cope and Stewardson, and Frank Miles Day and Brother, developed an ambitious design for the Museum building. With its main facade facing South Street, the complex plan called for a series of wings and courtyards organized around three central rotundas.

1899
The northwest corner of the planned complex opened to the public. Recalling the medieval architecture of northern Italy, the brick building was also embellished with glass mosaics by the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company and a series of marble plaques, including one by Alexander Stirling Calder above the entrance.

The Museum's Mediterranean, Egyptian and Near Eastern collections were strikingly displayed in a series of skylit galleries on the upper floor. The Asian, American, Oceanian, and African collections were featured in the lower floor galleries.

1915
The second phase of the Museum building, the Harrison Wing, is completed. The first of the three proposed rotundas, it is named for Charles Custis Harrison, Pepper’s successor as University Provost and president of the Museum’s board. Ninety feet in height and diameter, the dramatic upper hall served as an exhibition space, and initially housed a loan collection of Asian ceramics. Below is an 800-seat auditorium, characterized by its dramatic domed ceiling with a bronze starburst at its center.

The Guastavino vaulting system, which allows these vast unsupported halls, was used in both spaces.

1924
The Coxe Memorial Egyptian Wing was the next phase in building out the master plan, and it was to link the Harrison Rotunda with the larger central dome. This wing was made possible by the generous endowment of Eckley Brinton Coxe, Jr., who during his lifetime had supported Museum expeditions to Nubia and Egypt.

The Museum had intended that the large scale fragments of the Palace of Merenptah would be displayed in the upper hall, but a misunderstanding with the architects resulted in insufficent weight-bearing capacity. The palace as well as the 10-ton sphinx were instead installed in the lower hall, where they have remained.

1929
Funded by Eldridge Johnson, Chairman of the Museum's Board, the Administrative Wing was completed. Over the years, the wing has also been called the Educational Wing or the Sharpe Wing, after Richard and Sally Patterson Sharpe, in whose honor the third floor galleries were named. The wing now serves as the Museum’s main entrance, the Trescher entrance, named for longtime patron Robert L. Trescher.

The new wing was a combination of galleries, collections storage rooms, and administrative offices, and also included space for the education department. This new wing makes explicit reference to its neighbor across South Street, Franklin Field, and indeed the two buildings are the work of the same architects, Day and Klauder. The Trescher Entrance aligns with the stadium’s main architectural feature on the south side, a pair of arches flanked by stone pilasters.

1971
Following the completion of the Administrative Wing, there was a period in which the Museum's building and 1896 masterplan were neglected. During this period, the Museum became increasingly devoted to archaeological and anthropological research. It was therefore appropriate that in 1971 the newest wing was termed the Academic Wing. A modern addition, the wing brought together an expanding university anthropology department with a traditional museum. The Academic Wing, designed by Mitchell/Giurgola, provided the anthropology department with classrooms and laboratories and the Museum with a new Kress Entrance to accommodate large school groups. Also included in the wing were additional Museum department offices, a cafe, a Museum Library, and collections storage.

2002
The Mainwaring Wing for Collections Storage and Study, designed by Atkin, Olshin, Lawson-Bell Architects, provided state-of-the-art storage space for the Museum's most "at risk" artifacts from around the world. The wing marked a return to the 1896 master plan. The wing features on one facade the detailed traditional masonry of the original buildings and on the other the modern facade of the academic wing.

Also completed in 2002 was the restoration of the courtyard (Olin Partnership, landscape architects), now referred to as the Stoner Courtyard, named after Museum donors Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stoner.

2005
Phase I of the FARE (Future Air-Conditioning, Renovation and Expansion) Project was completed, resulting in new subsurface office and storage spaces beneath the restored Warden Garden. The project was a collaboration between Marvin Waxman Consulting Engineers, Dagit Saylor Architects, Keast & Hood structural engineers, and Mulhern Consulting Engineers and Associates. Hillspring Landscape Architecture in conjunction with Christopher Allen/Julie Regnier rounded out the team.