In 1926 the United States was doing well. The era remembered as the “Roaring Twenties” was in full-swing, it was peace time, and the country was celebrating its 150th birthday as an independent nation. What better place to honor all that had been achieved than where it all began? Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed and a nation was born, would host the 1926 Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition.
State House Commission for the Sesqui-Centennial From the archives of the Old Barracks Association
Where most World’s Fairs had a tendency to look forward at technological advancements and applicable science, the 1926 Exposition also reflected on the history of the host country.
New Jersey chose to adopt this way of thinking and in 1922 the State House Commission appropriated $150,000 ($2.3 million today) for the construction, maintenance, and supervision of the of building that would represent the state of New Jersey.
From the archives of the Old Barracks Association
Courtesy of the Bruce C. Collection
The Old Barracks was chosen because it was the “type of building . . . fitting and most desirable in consideration of the character of the event”.
The building allowed New Jersey to display its colonial and Revolutionary roots by decorating the pavilion with reproductions of pieces existing in the real Old Barracks’ collection.
Construction began in December of 1925 and was completed only six months later in May of 1926. This was a much more faithful replica than what had been produced in San Francisco, with the J.B. Van Sciver Company of Camden, New Jersey being commissioned to produce replica furniture and other pieces from the Old Barracks’ collection, which had now been collecting antiques for 24 years.
New Jersey’s was the only state building ready for the opening of the exposition. The close proximity of Philadelphia to Trenton meant the women of the Old Barracks Association were able to take an active interest in the proceedings. Given a private tour of the completed building before it was open to the general public, they also hosted a reception there which was regarded in the Society Pages as “quite the most talked-of event of the coming week”.