As part of the national celebration of the bicentennial of the Constitution, the PMA opened the exhibition "Federal Philadelphia, 1785-1825: The Athens of the Western World" on July 5, 1987. The exhibition featured furniture, costumes, paintings, silver, and architectural elements, and was curated by Beatrice B. Garvan and Darrel Sewell. The records are largely comprised of photographs of the exhibition objects. The records also include a checklist of the exhibition and a scrapbook containing photographs, clippings, correspondence, and notes. The records range in date from 1985-1988, however, the object photographs are undated.