Tuesday, December 11, 2012

St. Louis In Context: The Louisiana Exposition of 1904


    Seeking to eclipse the grand Colombian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, St. Louis sought to host its own exposition and fair.  In January 1899, delegates from the territories and states that were purchased in the Louisiana Purchase, met and chose to host their exposition in St. Louis instead of New Orleans.  Through private citizen subscription, corporate donations, and a matching pledge by Congress, $15 million, the same amount the land was purchased for from Napoleon, was raised to begin planning and construction (Primm 375).  In order to accommodate the expected hundreds of thousands of visitors, hotels were built, Forest Park was expanded and land was leased from Washington University  public transportation was expanded and streetcar lines were added, water purification projects were begun, streets were improved, and the city and citizens were asked to clean-up (378-380).  Large design and construction teams were brought in to create white palaces, plazas, exhibition buildings, entrances, arches, sculptures, gardens and everything else needed to surpass the grandeur of Chicago's exposition (83).    The fairgrounds were ceremonially dedicated on April 30, May 1, and May 2, 1903, at which President Theodore Roosevelt gave the dedication speech (385).  On April 30, 1904, the fair grounds were opened and thousands poured in to see the wonders of science, industry and culture.  Forty-three countries had their own exhibit buildings, and each displayed new advances in technology and industry.  Each state and territory had its own pavilion, the largest and most elaborate being Missouri's.   The fair was a great success, surpassing Chicago's fair in quality of exhibitions and ended with a final attendance of nearly twenty million.  (391).  The decade following the fair, saw yet another economic and population boom for St. Louis, having proven itself on the national stage as a city worthy of investment.  

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