Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex

Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex. . With 24 acres under one roof, this sprawling complex of buildings was erected for what has become the largest indoor agricultural event in North America, the Pennsylvania State Farm Show. In 1851, the first statewide agricultural exhibition was held in Harrisburg at the county fairgrounds, located in Uptown Harrisburg. Thereafter, annual events took place at various Pennsylvania cities until the end of the 19th century. The seeds for a permanent farm show were sown in 1876 when the State Board of Agriculture was established. The Board was required to meet once a year in January, and once a year in Harrisburg. In 1906, the Board teamed with the State Livestock Association and the Dairy Union to hold an exhibition of farm products, which, for the first time, would be judged with cash prizes awarded. By 1917, the first official Farm Show exhibition was organized and held for the next 13 years at the Emerson-Brantingham Implement Company Building downtown at 10th and Market Streets. The State Products Farm Show Commission in 1927 and the initial development of the Complex on a 40-acre cow pasture located here at N. Cameron and Maclay Streets in 1929. The Harrisburg Architectural firm of Lawrie and Green was retained to design the main exhibition hall, which opened in time for the 1931 Show. In 1939, the large arena, designed by Philadelphia architect Verus Ritter, was built and in 2003, expanded exposition space and a new main entrance were completed. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex remains a statewide institution, not just in hosting the annual event which bears its name, but as the destination for over 200 events and over 1 million visitors annually for national and internationally recognized trade shows, sporting events, exhibitions and performances.