Editing Sesquicentennial Exposition (section)

==Highlights==
[[File:1926 Sesqui-Centennial Exposition "Luminous Liberty Bell", Philadelphia, PA.jpg|thumb|The {{convert|80|ft|adj=on}} tall illuminated [[Liberty Bell]] spanning [[Broad Street (Philadelphia)|Broad Street]]]]
Organizers constructed an {{convert|80|ft|adj=on}} replica of the Exposition's symbol, the [[Liberty Bell]], covered in 26,000 [[light bulb]]s, at the gateway to the festival. Sesqui-Centennial Stadium (later known as Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and, after 1964, [[John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia)|John F. Kennedy Stadium]]) was built in conjunction with the fair.  The stadium had been a significant aspect of the fair, due to several events being held there.  These events include religious ceremonies, the patriotic pageant known as "Freedom," and numerous sporting events.  One of the most infamous events was the September 23rd championship boxing match between [[Gene Tunney]] and [[Jack Dempsey]], which drew a crowd of 125,000 people standing in the rain to witness the occasion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/sesquicentennial-international-exposition/#3934|title=Sesquicentennial International Exposition (1926)|last=Wilson|first=Martin|website=Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> Also on display at the exposition was the [[Curtis Organ]], still one of the largest [[pipe organ]]s in the world. In 1926 the first bridge (later renamed [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]]) spanning the [[Delaware River]] between center city Philadelphia and [[Camden, New Jersey]], was built in anticipation of the attending crowds.

Key speakers at the opening ceremonies were [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Frank B. Kellogg]], [[Secretary of Commerce]] and future [[United States President|President]] [[Herbert Hoover]], and Philadelphia Mayor [[W. Freeland Kendrick]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sesquicentennial opens as sun shines; 100,000 pass gates|work=New York Times|date= 1926-06-01|page=1}}</ref>
At the center of the exposition along the main thoroughfare on a segment of south Broad Street known as the [[Southern Boulevard Parkway (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)|Southern Boulevard Parkway]] was the Forum of Founders consisting of the Court of Honor, the Liberal Arts and Agriculture Buildings, a group of sculptures and the Stairway of Nations facing on the opposing side the spectacular Tower of Light.  Another highlight for fair goers, revolved around the recreation of Philadelphia's High Street during the city's colonial period.  This area consisted of over twenty buildings, along with guides dressed in period clothing to interact with people.<ref name=":04">{{Cite web|url=https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/sesquicentennial-international-exposition/#3934|title=Sesquicentennial International Exposition (1926)|last=Wilson|first=Martin|website=Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref>

The Exposition also included an amusement area, located within League Island Park. The area was designated as "Treasure Island." It occupied over five acres and was referred to as a children's paradise. A variety of amusements and entertainment were available. Included were a replica of the Canadian Rockies, a miniature railroad, mountain slide, Robinson Crusoe's Beach, a pirate's lair, boat rides and Noah's Ark complete with animals. The exposition had a number of roller coasters. These included [[Sesquicentennial Cyclone|The Cyclone]], a prototype of [[Harry Traver]]'s [[Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters]] and an installation of his [[Jazz Railway]] model of coaster.<ref name="Legends of Terror">{{cite book |last=Munch |first=Richard |date=1982 |title=Harry G. Traver: Legends of Terror |location=Mentor, OH |publisher=Amusement Park Books, Inc. |isbn=0935408029 }}</ref>

Naval Air Facility [[Mustin Field]] was dedicated at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] on September 17, 1926, in honor of Captain [[Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923)|Henry C. Mustin]], Navy Air Pilot No.3, and Naval Aviator No. 11, who recorded the first catapult launch from a moving vessel on November 5, 1915, when he flew off of [[USS North Carolina (ACR-12)|USS ''North Carolina'']] in a [[Curtiss Model AB-2]]. "It was a major event that drew 1,500 spectators, among them Assistant Secretary of the Navy, [[Theodore Douglas Robinson]], Brig. Gen. [[Douglas MacArthur]], Rear Adm. [[William Moffett]], and Philadelphia Mayor [[W. Freeland Kendrick]], who had been a childhood friend of Capt. Mustin. The dedication took place toward the end of the six-month Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition, whose president was [[John Wanamaker]]. Thirty foreign nations attended the Sesqui, and all the planes from the exhibition flew in formation with aircraft of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to honor Mustin."<ref>Morton, John Fass, "Mustin: A Naval Family of the 20th Century", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2003, Library of Congress card number 2003005264, {{ISBN|1-59114-492-2}}, page 143.</ref>

Among the foreign nations that attended the Sesquicentennial was China, represented by [[H. H. Kung]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1927-01-24 |title=Education: Great-Grandson 72 |language=en-US |work=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,786707,00.html |access-date=2023-01-14 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>