The Centennial Exhibition, which was held in Philadelphia in 1876, was the greatest fair the world had then seen. None of its predecessors had equalled it in extent, or surpassed it in variety or general interest. Paris, in 1867, had given a more compact and systematic display, and at Vienna, in 1873, Oriental nations were more fully represented. But the American Exhibition had many points of superiority over those. It showed the natural products, industries, inventions, and arts of the Western Hemisphere as they had never been shown before, and brought them for the first time, in their fullness and perfection, in contrast with those of the Old World. In the department of machinery it was incomparably superior to all its predecessors, and also in that of farm implements and products. In fine arts it did not contain as many really great masterpieces as had been seen at Paris and Vienna, but it embraced a wider representation of contemporary art from all parts of the world. In general manufactures the display was much greater in quantity than had ever before been attempted. And it greatly exceeded all other fairs as a really international exhibition, for every civilized state on the globe, excepting Greece and a few minor republics in Central and South America, was represented. About 236 acres of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia were occupied by the Exhibition. The ground was admirably adapted for the purposes of the Fair. It was an elevated plateau, with three spurs jutting out toward the Schuylkill River. One of the three spurs was occupied by Memorial Hall, containing the art exhibition, another by Horticultural Hall, and the third by Agricultural Hall, while the broad plain where they joined contained the Main Building, Machinery Hall, United States Government Building, and about a hundred smaller structures. The grounds were traversed by five main avenues, a belt-line railroad, and many miles of minor walks. There was an extensive lake, and a splendid wealth of lawns, flower beds, and groves.