St.

Louis of 1904

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international
exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal
funds totaling $15 million (equivalent to $488,555,556 in 2022) were used to finance the event. More than 60
countries and 43 of the then-45 American states-maintained exhibition spaces at the fair, which was attended by
nearly 19.7 million people.

Historians generally emphasize the prominence of the themes of race and imperialism, and the fair's long-
lasting impact on intellectuals in the fields of history, art history, architecture and anthropology. From the point
of view of the memory of the average person who attended the fair, it primarily promoted entertainment, consumer
goods and popular culture. The monumental Greco-Roman architecture of this and other fairs of the era did much
to influence permanent new buildings and master plans of major cities.

Background

In 1904, St. Louis hosted a World's Fair to celebrate the centennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The
idea for such a commemorative event seems to have emerged early in 1898, with Kansas City and St. Louis
initially presented as potential hosts for a fair based on their central location within the territory encompassed by
the 1803 land annexation.

The exhibition was grand in scale and lengthy in preparation, with an initial $5 million committed by the
city of St. Louis through the sale of city bonds was authorized by the Missouri state legislature in April 1899. An
additional $5 million was generated through private donations by interested citizens and businesses from around
Missouri, a fundraising target reached in January 1901. The final installment of $5 million of the exposition's $15
million capitalization came in the form of earmarked funds that were part of a congressional appropriations bill
passed at the end of May 1900. The fundraising mission was aided by the active support of President of the United
States William McKinley, which was won by organizers in a February 1899 White House visit.

While initially conceived as a centennial celebration to be held in 1903, the actual opening of the St. Louis
exposition was delayed until April 30, 1904, to allow for full-scale participation by more states and foreign
countries. The exposition operated until December 1, 1904. During the year of the fair, the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition supplanted the annual St. Louis Exposition of agricultural, trade, and scientific exhibitions which had
been held in the city since the 1880s.

The fair's 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) (1.9 mi2) site, designed by George Kessler, was located at the present-day grounds
of Forest Park and on the campus of Washington University, and was the largest fair (in area) to date. There were
over 1,500 buildings, connected by some 75 miles (121 km) of roads and walkways. It was said to be impossible
to give even a hurried glance at everything in less than a week. The Palace of Agriculture alone covered some 20
acres (81,000 m2).

Exhibits were staged by approximately 50 foreign nations, the United States government, and 43 of the
then-45 U.S. states. These featured industries, cities, private organizations and corporations, theater troupes, and
music schools. There were also over 50 concession-type amusements found on "The Pike"; they provided
educational and scientific displays, exhibits and imaginary 'travel' to distant lands, history and local boosterism
(including Louis Wollbrinck's "Old St. Louis") and pure entertainment.

Over 19 million (19,694,855, to be precise) individuals were in attendance at the fair.

Aspects that attracted visitors included:

1. Architecture
2. Scientific contributions
3. Communication contributions
4. Medical contributions (X-ray, Infant incubator)
5. Transportation contributions (Electric streetcar, Personal automobile, Airplane
6. Introduction of new foods (ice cream cone, hamburger, hotdog, peanut butter, iced tea, cotton candy)
7. Influence on popular music
8. People on display
Following the Spanish–American War, the peace treaty granted the United States control over Guam, the
Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico had had a quasi-autonomous government as an "overseas province"
of Spain, and the Philippines, having declared independence after the 1896–1899 Philippine Revolution,
fought US annexation in the 1899–1902 Philippine–American War. These areas controversially became
unincorporated territories of the United States in 1899, and people were brought from these territories to be
on "display" at the 1904 fair.

1,102 Filipinos were displayed at the fair, 700 of them Philippine Scouts and Philippine Constabulary, used
for controlling conflict among Filipinos and between Filipinos and fair organizers. Displays included the
Apache of the American Southwest and the Igorot of the Philippines, both of which peoples were noted as
"primitive". Within the Philippine reservation, was a school which was actively teaching Igorot students. The
Philippine reservation at the exposition cost $1.1 million (equivalent to $35,827,407 in 2022) to create and
operate. The people had been trafficked under harsh conditions, and many did not survive. Burial plots in two
St. Louis cemeteries were prepared in advance; however, traditional burial practices were not allowed. Some
of the people to be exhibited died en route or at the fair; bodies were immediately removed, and funeral rites
had to be conducted without the bodies, in front of an oblivious public audience of fair attendees. Organizers
choreographed ethnographic displays, having customs which marked special occasions restaged day after day.

Similarly, members of the Southeast Alaskan Tlingit tribe accompanied fourteen totem poles, two Native
houses, and a canoe displayed at the Alaska Exhibit. Mary Benson, a noted Pomo basket weaver whose work is
curated at the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum of the American Indian, attended to demonstrate her
basket making skills which are described as astounding. Athletic events such as a basketball tournament were
held to demonstrate the success of the Indian Boarding Schools and other assimilation programs. These efforts
were confirmed with the Fort Shaw Indian School girls basketball team who were declared "World Champions"
after beating every team who faced them in these denominational games.

It has been argued that the "overriding purpose of the fair really centered on an effort to promote America's
new role as an overseas imperial power", and that "While the juxtaposition of "modern" and "primitive" buttressed
assumptions of racial superiority, representations of Native American and Filipino life created an impression of
continuity between westward expansion across the continent and the new overseas empire." Racializing concepts
and epithets used domestically were extended to the people of the overseas territories.

Ota Benga, a Congolese Pygmy, was featured at the fair. Later he was given the run of the grounds at the
Bronx Zoo in New York, then featured in an exhibit on evolution alongside an orangutan in 1906, but public
protest ended that.

In contrast, the Japan pavilion advanced the idea of a modern yet exotic culture unfamiliar to the turn-of-the-
century Western world, much as it had during the earlier Chicago World's Fair. The Japanese government spent
lavishly: $400,000, plus $50,000 from the Japanese colonial government of Formosa, with an additional $250,000
coming from Japanese commercial interests and regional governments; all told, this totaled $700,000 (equivalent
to $22,799,259 in 2022). A 150,000 square foot garden, set on the hillside south of the Machinery Hall and Engine
House, featured a replica of Kyoto's famous Kinkakuji, showing Japan's ancient sophistication, and a Formosa
Mansion and Tea House, showing her modern colonial efforts. A second exhibition, "Fair Japan on the 'Pike',"
organized by Kushibiki and Arai, welcomed the public through a large Niōmon-style gate into a realm of geisha-
staffed exotic Japanese consumerism

Photos of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair

In April 1904, St. Louis opened its doors to the world for what was officially called the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, but was widely known as the St. Louis World’s Fair. Millions of dollars had been spent to build the
1,200-acre fairgrounds and its nearly 1,500 buildings—a huge scale that ended up delaying the opening by a year.
During the eight months the fair stayed open, nearly 20 million people paid a visit. On display were marvels of
technology, agriculture, art, and history, and there were amusement rides and entertainment to be found in a
section called “the Pike.” The fair introduced a huge audience to some relatively new inventions such as private
automobiles, outdoor electric lighting, and the X-ray machine—as well as foods from across the United States
and around the world. The exposition also had a focus on anthropological exhibits—with an approach that is
shocking by today’s standards: In some cases, organizers brought people from the Philippines, the Arctic, and
elsewhere to the fairgrounds as set pieces among re-creations of their home environment or villages. After the
fair closed, nearly all of its structures were demolished within a short time, leaving only a few footprints, ponds,
and canals in Forest Park in St. Louis.
•

1. A view of the natural-history fossil exhibit, with a model of a whale and skeletons of
several dinosaurs, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904.
The Smithsonian coordinated all of the U.S. government exhibits and prepared a display
on its activities and collections for the exposition.

2. A bird's-eye view of construction taking place on some of the 1904 World's Fair buildings
on January 24, 1904
3. The inside entrance of the Palace of Machinery, photographed as construction continued
in 1903.

4. A craftsman stands by a bust of Thomas Jefferson, the model for the statue by Charles
Grafly installed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, circa 1903.
5. An overview of the Palace of Transportation and surrounding fairgrounds, photographed
in 1904.

6. On April 30, 1904—the opening day of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair—William H.
Thompson, the president of the National Bank of Commerce in St. Louis, stands on the dais
at the Louisiana Monument in the Plaza of St. Louis. Standing next to him is David R.
Francis, the president of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company.
7. World's Fair opening-day crowds gather, with William Howard Taft in the foreground. At
the time, Taft was serving as the U.S. secretary of war under President Theodore Roosevelt.
The Palace of Manufactures stands in the background.

8. Fairgoers approach Festival Hall and the West Restaurant in April 1904.
9. A view of the South Lagoon, as seen from the Grand Basin.

10. Statues of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant flank the entrance to the Illinois State
building, photographed at the 1904 World's Fair in June 1904. The Ferris wheel can be seen
at the right.
11. Missouri Corn Temple exhibit stands inside the Palace of Agriculture.

12. A view of the Allis-Chalmers exhibit in the Palace of Machinery shows exhibits from companies
such as Jeanesville Iron Works, Crocker-Wheeler, Doble Abner, Harrisburg Foundry, General
Electric, and Westinghouse.
13. Inside the Palace of Horticulture, an elephant made from almonds stands in the California
exhibit.

14.The Underwood Typewriter exhibit stands inside the Palace of Liberal Arts. Underwood
constructed a colorful pavilion with jewel-like stained glass set in an iron frame. The structure was
lit with concealed electric bulbs. Six of its 12 model typewriters stood on specially made pedestals
with adjustable mahogany chairs for the typists. Nearby the Underwood display were other typewriter
exhibits by the Fox Typewriter Company, Mittag & Volger, Fay-Sholes, and Smith-Corona.
15.An exhibit of historic locomotive engines fills part of the huge Palace of Transportation. A
number of locomotives from 19th-century England and America were on display.

16.A view of the Sunken Garden from the steps of the U.S. government building.
17. A view of the East Cascade Falls, looking toward the Palace of Electricity.

18. A night view of the illuminated Festival Hall and Cascades from the Plaza of St. Louis across the
Grand Basin, with the Terrace of States behind Festival Hall.
19. Fairgoers travel in a World's Fair autobus.

20.A bride and groom pose for their wedding photograph at the top of the DeForest Wireless
Telegraph Tower at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that
Violet E. Ingle and Alfred M. Landers, both from Worden, Illinois, were married on June 12, 1904,
on the highest platform of the tower by the Reverend Dr. B. C. Palmer, a pastor of Lafayette
Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. The top of the 300-foot tower was a popular attraction at the fair.
21.A view of fair visitors crowding the Pike on Pike Day, June 4, 1904. The Pike was the main
thoroughfare of amusement concessions at the fair. Pike Day celebrations included the Parade of
Nations, a lacrosse match between Native American teams, and a variety of performances put on by
representatives of the Pike concessions.

22.The "Creation" concession, photographed on the Pike at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Inside
"Creation," fairgoers traveled by boat through a labyrinth of underground passages to a roomy cavern,
where they were "diverted by illusions in the form of living heads that have no bodies to support
them." The destination of the boat trip was an auditorium, where they viewed pictures of Creation as
narrated in the biblical Book of Genesis.
23. Two model American warships and operators, photographed at the Naval Show at the Pike.

24. The Temple of Mirth concession on the Pike provided fairgoers entertainment with distorting
mirrors, a cave of winds, and other novelties.
25. Creatures walk around in enclosures at Hagenbeck's animal show on the Pike. The German
animal trainer Carl Hagenbeck started his traveling animal shows in the 1870s, with
spectacles featuring people and animals from remote regions.

26. Hagenbeck's trained elephant "shooting the chutes" at the World's Fair in St. Louis,
Missouri.
27. A view of the fairgrounds, seen though the Ferris wheel from one of its cars.

28.The Miniature Railway concession, operated by the Cagney brothers, ran the full length of
the Pike and took passengers to the Boer War concession, the Philippine exposition, and other
places of interest.
29.Huge mock-ups of mountains and hills surround the buildings of the Pike's Tyrolean Alps
concession.

30. A Spanish Dancer from the Streets of Seville concession on the Pike. She is posing in front
of a reproduction of the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra.
31. The east entrance of the Pike with the statue Cowboys Shooting Up a Western Town, by
Frederic Remington, at left center; Akoun's Mysterious Asia attraction in the left background; and
the Under and Over the Sea attraction on the right. Mysterious Asia was a representation of life
in India, Burma, Persia, and Ceylon, and required a 15-cent admission. Under and Over the Sea
represented a trip to Paris in a submarine and a return in an airship, and required a 50-cent
admission.

32. Original caption: "Among the inhabitants of the Arctic Region at the World's Fair, St. Louis,
Mo." This was one of several anthropological exhibits at the fair featuring people brought in
from around the world.
33. Original caption: "Home in the Old Plantation (Pike)." Another attraction on the Pike for
fairgoers.

34. Original caption: "Indian Girl Archers." A U.S. government exhibit at the 1904 World's
Fair.
35.Sinhalese dancers from the Mysterious Asia concession pose with elephants on the Pike.

36. Original caption: "Pygmies from Central Africa dancing on platform in front of the Palace of
Manufactures at the 1904 World's Fair on 28 July 1904"
37.Original caption: "Group of Bontoc-Igorrotes 'Head-Hunters.'" Members of several ethnic
groups from the Philippines—a newly acquired U.S. territory—were brought to the fair,
essentially put on display in exhibits such as a re-creation of a Philippine village.

38. Original caption: "An Exciting skirmish in the Battle of Colenso, Boer War, World's Fair,
St. Louis, 1904." The Boer War concession was a 15-acre "battlefield" where military units
paraded and battles from the Second Boer War (1899–1902) were reenacted.
 38. The Pyrheliophor, a device invented by Manual Antonio Gomes (bottom right), a
Portuguese priest known as Father Himalaya. The Pyrheliophor, on display at the fair, was an
apparatus set up to use thousands of small mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays and determine
how much heat could be generated.

40.The 1904 Olympics also took place in St. Louis at the same time, stretched out over several
months. Here, the finish of the first heat of the 100-yard handicap.
41. President and Mrs. Roosevelt, and David R. Francis, photographed in the reviewing stand on
Roosevelt Day, November 26, 1904

42."At Sunset." A view across the Grand Basin at the 1904 World's Fair toward the West
Restaurant pavilion and the Ferris wheel.