Philadelphia Museum of Art Experience

I've been to a large number of museums in my time, throughout Asia, Europe and the US.  But throughout these museums I've never experienced one like the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  It is not uncommon for a museum to decorate its walls like the below image that I took at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This image may at first glance appear to include elements of Trompe-l'œil, "art technique involving realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions."  However, this is not an optical illusion.  One can actually walk into the next room and around the columns seen below.

It is also not uncommon for rooms of a museum to be decorated in a certain way.  For example, walking through a Frank Lloyd Wright home and having part of it roped off as it displays the look of the original room with objects and furniture in it somewhat like the below image of a Chinese building, which I have seen many versions of (though all in Asia).

It is also not uncommon to see replicas of rooms (like the above) or individuals, similar to a wax museum.  I do question how some of these elements are included.  For example, was the below image built into the walls when the museum was originally constructed?  Or was it added as a later renovation?  Or what?  I also seem to be unable to find much literature written on these aspects of the museum.

However, one thing that I can say I have never seen is a building inside another building.  The Philadelphia Museum of Art is home to the tea house of architect Ögi Rodö which originally stood on the grounds of the architect's private residence in Tokyo.  It was sold to the museum in 1928 and installed in 1957, complete with growing bamboo and flowing water.

This is no replica.  It is the actual original architecture of a tea house within an art museum, which is amazing to me.  While none of these elements is unique in and of itself the combination of all of these elements within the museum gave me a museum experience truly unlike any other.  This is an experience that allows one to "Travel to the far east and around the world without leaving Philadelphia."  The experience moved me almost to tears as I recalled all of the places I had been in my travels like these.  Along with these architectural elements the museum had collections of Picasso, Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh as well as Contemporary Modern Art and a collection of Arms and Armory.  This museum truly has something for everyone and I would definitely recommend it as an experience for everyone.  (Note: All images included here were taken by myself.)