still scarcely half ready for exhibits or visitors, and was continued
for 119 days. There were about 4800 exhibitors, somewhat more than
one-half being foreign. The total cost of the exhibition was nearly
$1,000,000, and the receipts were $340,000. Although a financial
failure, and a disappointment in many ways, this first international
exhibition in the United States was productive of much good.
The success of the London exhibition also aroused the French to depart
from the exclusively national character of their former exhibitions and
to inaugurate one open to the world. This was done under the direct
auspices of the Imperial Government, which undertook to combine certain
features of both the London and the New York enterprises; hence,
the first international exhibition held in Paris was practically a
private scheme supported by official guarantees. A further departure
was here made in the matter of building, and, instead of the single
great structure, there were the Palais de l’Industrie, the Palais des
Beaux Arts, the Panorama, and three smaller buildings for agricultural
implements, carriages, and a variety of less costly articles. Another
innovation was here introduced, a partial return to the methods of the
commercial fair, in the setting apart of exhibiting spaces on the open
ground.
The main building, the Palais de l’Industrie, was erected by a
joint-stock company on the Champs Elysées, and provided a floor space
of 1,770,000 square feet. It was built of glass, stone, and brick, and
was 800 feet long by 350 feet wide. The various buildings cost about
$5,000,000, and the Palais de l’Industrie was erected for a permanent
structure.
This exhibition was opened on May 15, 1855, and closed on November 15,
following. It was visited by 4,533,464 persons. Besides France and her
colonies, fifty-three foreign states and twenty-two colonies belonging
to them sent exhibits. In all there were 20,839 exhibitors, those of
France and her colonies predominating by only about 500. The exhibits
were classified on the London plan, there being in each case thirty
classes altogether. Excluding the main building, which the Imperial
Government acquired, the exhibition cost about $2,250,000.
Between the first and second London exhibitions there were many
industrial and art displays in the United Kingdom and colonies and on
the Continent, among which should be noted those of New Brunswick and
Madras in 1853, Munich in 1854, and Edinburgh and Manchester in 1857.
The second London exhibition was undertaken by a commission headed, as
the first, by the Prince Consort, under a guarantee fund of $2,250,000.
While it was in course of preparation the Prince Consort died, and
for a while a heavy pall hung over the scheme. The commission here
introduced the French idea of separate buildings. The site was at South
Kensington, and the main structure was built of brick, glass, and
iron, was nearly rectangular in shape, and covered an area of about
seven acres. With the annexes the total area under roof was about
twenty-three acres.
[Illustration: WOMAN’S BUILDING.
(World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893.)]
This exhibition was opened by the Duke of Cambridge on May 1, 1862,
and remained open for 177 days. It was visited by 6,211,103 persons, a
daily average of 36,329, its receipts were wholly absorbed by expenses,
and a slight deficit was left. Foreign exhibitors numbered 17,861, and
received more than 9000 prizes.
In 1863 the French Government announced that an exhibition would
be held in Paris in 1867, that was intended to be more completely
universal in character and more comprehensive in plan than any that had
ever been held. The Champ de Mars, the great parade-ground on which the
Ecole Militaire faced, containing about 111 acres, was placed at the
disposal of the commissioners by the Government. In the centre of this
space was erected the principal building, an oval structure mainly of
iron, 1607 feet long and 1246 feet wide, that cost $2,357,000.
In planning this building the convenience of exhibitors and visitors in
ready access to the exhibits of any desired country or class was given
the preference over architectural effect. Here, again, was a diffusion
of exhibits in detached buildings, and a noteworthy novelty was the
reservation of ground on the park surrounding the main building for the
erection by foreign exhibitors of special buildings for the display of
articles that could not be accommodated in the main structure. This
feature became the most popular one of the entire exhibition, for it
gave a most graphic illustration of the architecture, manners, customs,
and countless peculiarities of the peoples of the world.
The exhibition was opened by the Emperor on April 1, 1867, and was
closed on October 31, following. The number of visitors was upward
of 15,000,000, a daily average of nearly 70,000, and of exhibitors,
51,819. In all, 12,944 medals and grand prizes of honorable mention
were awarded. From beginning to end the expenses were $4,596,764,
and the receipts aggregated $2,822,000. The national and municipal
governments contributed $1,200,000 each, which added to the receipts of
the exhibition proper created a surplus over expenditure of $626,000.
London’s third exhibition, from May 1 till September 30, 1871, was
projected as the first of an annual series that should separately
promote a distinct branch of industrial effort. Thirty-three foreign
countries were represented; there were approximately 4000 art and 7000
industrial exhibitors; and the visitors numbered 1,142,000. The second
in the series, in 1872, was confined to printing, paper, music, musical
instruments, jewelry, cotton goods, and fine arts; and the third, in
1873, was devoted to the general subject of cookery.
Great as was the universal exposition of Paris in 1867, that at Vienna
in 1873 far surpassed it in extent and grandeur, although its pecuniary
success was severely affected by an epidemic of cholera, a financial
crisis, and local extortions. As each of the preceding international
exhibitions had developed a distinctive feature, so this of Vienna
introduced the custom of holding world’s congresses for the discussion
of great problems of universal application.
The exhibition was opened on May 1 and closed on November 3, following.
Turnstiles recorded the entrance of 7,254,687 visitors. There were
about 70,000 exhibitors, whose display, in extent and costliness,
exceeded that of Paris in 1867. The gross receipts were about
$2,000,000, and expenditures about $9,850,000, making a deficiency of
some $7,850,000, which the Government liquidated. The United States
was represented by 643 exhibitors, more than half of whom were awarded
prizes.
This brings the record up to the Centennial Exposition, at
Philadelphia, in 1876, and covers the third quarter of the century.
The actual work of making the Centennial Exhibition began on March 3,
1871, when Congress passed an Act creating the United States Centennial
Commission. This authorized the President to appoint a commissioner and
an alternate from each State and Territory, on the nomination of the
respective governors. The appointments were promptly made, and from the
whole body of commissioners the following were chosen for the principal
executive officers: President, Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut;
Vice-Presidents, Alfred T. Goshorn, of Ohio, Orestes Cleveland, of
New Jersey, John D. Creigh, of California, Robert Lowry, of Iowa, and
Robert Mallory, of Kentucky; Director-General, Alfred T. Goshorn;
Secretary, John L. Campbell, of Indiana; Assistant Secretary, Dorsey
Gardner; Counselor and Solicitor, John L. Shoemaker.
Details of organization and management were vested in an Executive
Committee. On June 1, 1872, Congress passed an Act creating the
Centennial Board of Finance, with large powers. This Board estimated
that the cost of the exhibition would be $10,000,000, and apportioned
shares of capital stock for this amount among the several States
and Territories, on the basis of population. Subsequently, a Board
of Revenue was appointed and vested with authority to collect
subscriptions and other funds.
Despite the financial panic of the summer of 1873, preparations
progressed so favorably that on July 3 President Grant issued a
proclamation reciting that the one-hundredth anniversary of the
independence of the United States would be celebrated by holding an
international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and the products of the
soil and mine, in Philadelphia, in 1876, opening April 19 and closing
October 19, and inviting the nations of the world to take part in both
the celebration and the exhibition. In response to a formal invitation
issued by the Secretary of State, thirty-two foreign governments sent
favorable replies for themselves and their colonies.
[Illustration: AGRICULTURAL BUILDING.
(Atlanta Exposition, 1895.)]
The city of Philadelphia placed at the disposal of the commissioners
a tract in Fairmount Park, aggregating 236 acres, for the principal
buildings, and also made proportionately large allotments for the
exhibition of livestock and agricultural implements.
Five principal buildings were erected. The Main Exhibition Building was
in the form of a parallelogram, 1880 feet long and 464 feet wide, with
projections at the centre of the longest sides 416 feet long, and at
the centre of the short ones 216 feet long. The building was erected
on piers of masonry, wrought-iron columns supporting wrought-iron
roof trusses forming the superstructure, the sides of which for some
distance above the ground were finished between the columns with
paneled brick work. This building covered 21.47 acres, had a floor
space of 936,008 square feet, and cost $1,600,000.
The Art Gallery and Memorial Hall, designed to be a permanent
structure, was erected on an eminence in the Lansdowne Plateau. It is
built of granite, glass, and iron, in the modern Renaissance style of
architecture, on a terrace several feet above the level of the Plateau,
and cost $1,500,000. The dimensions are: length, 365 feet; width, 210
feet; height, 59 feet. From the centre of the structure rises a dome of
iron and glass, 150 feet in height, surmounted by a figure of Columbia
with outstretched hands. This building was erected by the State of
Pennsylvania, and is now used as a permanent art and industrial museum.
Machinery Hall was 1402 feet long and 360 feet wide, with an annex
on the south side 210 by 208 feet, and the main building and annex
had together a floor space of 558,440 square feet, or nearly thirteen
acres. The total cost was $792,000. Horticultural Hall, near the Art
Gallery, was built by the city of Philadelphia for permanent uses. It
exhibits the Moorish architecture of the twelfth century, is 383 feet
long by 193 feet wide, and is 72 feet high to the top of the lantern.
Its cost was $251,937. The Agricultural Building was erected of wood
and glass, the ground plan showing a parallelogram 630 feet long by 465
feet wide, and a nave 826 feet long and 100 feet wide crossed by three
transepts, and cost about $356,000.
[Illustration: MACHINERY HALL.
(Atlanta Exposition, 1895.)]
Other noteworthy edifices were the United States Government Building,
504 feet long by 300 feet wide, prepared to exhibit the various
functions of the public service; the Women’s Pavilion, covering an
area of an acre, and with its exhibits of woman’s handiwork from the
fifteen leading nations of the world constituting the first display of
the kind ever attempted on a large scale; twenty-six buildings erected
by State and Territorial governments; and many others put up by foreign
governments or exhibitors. Before the exhibition closed there were more
than two hundred buildings on the ground.
An interesting feature of this exhibition was the observance of State
Days, when the governors of the States, with their official staffs
and a large following of citizens, made ceremonial visits and held
receptions in the several State buildings. There were also numerous
other special days, when hosts of people united in a common interest,
religious, fraternal, social, military, aquatic, or educational, added
thousands to the ordinary attendance.
During the exhibition 9,910,966 persons entered the grounds, of whom
7,250,620 paid the full rate of fifty cents, 753,634 paid twenty-five
cents each, and 1,906,692 had free entry. The exhibition represented
an outlay of all kinds and by all interests of about $20,000,000. The
United States Government aided it with a loan of $1,500,000, which was
repaid; the State of Pennsylvania appropriated $1,000,000, and the city
of Philadelphia gave $1,500,000. From every point of view it was an
unqualified success.
Two years after the Centennial Exposition another one was held in
Paris, which not only exceeded all previous ones in that city in size
and magnificence, but made an unprecedented display of works of art and
literature. On this occasion about one hundred acres were set apart for
the various buildings, the exhibitors numbered some eighty thousand,
the gross receipts were upward of $2,500,000, and 16,032,725 visitors
were registered.
The third world’s exhibition in the United States was held in New
Orleans during the winter of 1884–85, and was planned to commemorate
the centennial of the first export of cotton from America. The
conception was an outgrowth of the exposition in Philadelphia, and
was first carried out on a limited scale in Atlanta in 1881, and on
a larger one in Louisville in 1883. Under the belief that the cotton
centennial should be celebrated in the chief city of the cotton belt,
the National Cotton Planters’ Association joined heartily in the
scheme suggested by Major E. A. Burke, of New Orleans, for a universal
exhibition in that city, in which the great industry of the Southern
States should play the most prominent part. Congress aided the movement
by an Act incorporating the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exposition, and, further, made a loan of $1,000,000 and appropriated
$300,000 for a Federal Building. Railroad and other corporations
subscribed for $500,000 in stock, the State of Louisiana appropriated
$100,000, and the city of New Orleans contributed a similar sum for the
erection of a permanent Horticultural Hall.
[Illustration: WOMAN’S BUILDING.
(Nashville Exposition, 1897.)]
Formal invitations were sent out to all foreign governments by the
State Department at Washington, commissioners were appointed for the
several States and Territories, and the time of the exposition was
fixed for December 1, 1884, to May 31, 1885. The site selected was the
Upper City Park, an unimproved tract of 245 acres, and in its centre
was erected the Main Building, a structure built wholly of wood, 1378
feet long and 905 feet wide, and with a continuous roof principally
of glass. The entire building covered a space of thirty-three acres.
A Music Hall capable of seating 11,000 persons was constructed in
the centre of this building, and a Machinery Hall in the rear. An
extension at the southern end, 570 by 120 feet, was devoted to mills
and factories in operation, and at right angles with this extension was
a building given up to sawmills.
The Federal Building, planned for the exhibits of the United States
Government and of the States, was 885 feet long by 565 feet wide, and
in general style and construction conformed to the Main Building.
Horticultural Hall, built of iron and glass, is 600 feet long, 100 feet
wide in main structure, and has a central transept carrying out the
extreme width to 194 feet. The Art Building, of corrugated iron and
glass, stood nearly in front of the Main Building, and was 250 long by
100 feet wide, with a rotunda 50 feet square in the centre. Two other
noteworthy buildings were erected by the Mexican Government, one in the
style of a native hacienda, with an interior gallery for the display of
horticulture and bird-life; the other for native minerals. Excluding
those of Mexico, the various buildings covered an area of 2,673,588
square feet, or sixty-two acres, and all buildings covered about
seventy-six acres.
Among the special features of this exposition were the display of
woman’s work, under charge of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe; of the work of
the colored race, under charge of the late Blanche K. Bruce; of
the cultivation of cotton and manufacture of the fibre; and of the
cultivation, harvesting, and preparation for market of rice and sugar.
On May 5, 1889, another universal exposition was opened in Paris. This
was also a commemorative one, marking the centennial of the French
Revolution, and because of its political character only the United
States and Switzerland accorded it official recognition, although most
of the European governments encouraged individual participation. The
exposition, despite this feature, was a grand success because of its
unusual extent and comprehensiveness and its distinctive features. This
exposition cost $8,600,000, and had about 60,000 exhibitors and more
than 28,000,000 reported visitors, the greater number, of course, being
French.
The making of the World’s Columbian Exposition, to commemorate the
discovery of America by Columbus, began soon after the close of the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It was at first proposed to
create a permanent exposition, to be held in Washington in 1892, to
illustrate the progress of North, Central, and South America, and a
board of promotion was organized. By 1889, however, a strong popular
sentiment had been aroused for a more comprehensive display, and
citizens of Washington, New York, Chicago, and St. Louis vied with each
other in pressing on a special committee of the United States Senate
the advantages of their respective cities. A certificate to the effect
that subscriptions to the amount of $5,000,000 had been made in Chicago
decided the controversy in favor of that city.
On April 25, 1890, Congress passed an Act giving a legal status
to a World’s Columbian Exposition, to be held under the auspices
and supervision of the United States Government, the organizing
corporation to guarantee the subscription of $10,000,000 and the
payment of $500,000 before the national commissioners should officially
recognize the site offered by the corporation for the exposition. On
December 24, following, President Harrison announced the forthcoming
exposition, to be opened on May 1, 1893, and invited the nations of
the world to participate in it. Congress appropriated in various sums
a total of $3,238,250 in money and authorized the coining of 5,000,000
souvenir fifty-cent pieces in silver to be sold for the benefit of the
exposition.
The management was vested in a National Commission of two
representatives of each State and Territory and of the District of
Columbia, and eight from the country at large. The site was Jackson
Park, on the shore of Lake Michigan, to which was added the Midway
Plaisance tract of 80 acres, making an aggregate ground area of
633 acres. On the main ground more than 150 noteworthy buildings
were erected. The Midway Plaisance was devoted to amusements and
the illustration of the manners and customs of the world. Here, the
most conspicuous of a multitude of great and curious objects was the
gigantic revolving and passenger-carrying Ferris Wheel. All of the
exposition buildings proper were constructed of wood, iron, and glass,
in combination with a material known as “staff,” made by uniting
plaster and jute fibre in water, in the form of a paste. As all
exterior surfaces were painted white, the exposition grounds became
popularly known as the White City.
[Illustration: ART BUILDING. EXACT REPRODUCTION OF THE PARTHENON.
(Nashville Exposition, 1897.)]
The principal buildings, with their cost, were those of Manufactures
and Liberal Arts, the largest of all, 1687 by 787 feet, $1,500,000;
Machinery, $1,285,000; Fine Arts, $670,000; Agriculture, $618,000;
Administration, $435,000; Electricity, $401,000; United States
Government, $400,000; Live Stock, $385,000; Transportation, $370,000;
Horticulture, $300,000; Mines, $265,000; Fisheries, $224,000; Woman’s,
$138,000; Forestry, $100,000; and a brick imitation of a modern United
States battleship, with complete armament and equipment, $100,000.
Foreign governments appropriated a total of $6,571,520 for their
respective buildings and exhibits, France leading with $650,000, and
being followed by Japan, $630,000; Brazil, $600,000; Germany, $214,200;
and Austria, $149,100; and the States and Territories, a total of
$6,020,850. The entire cost of construction was $18,322,622.
According to the original Act of Congress, the buildings then completed
were dedicated on Columbus Day, October 21, 1892, with prayer, music,
and an oration by Chauncey M. Depew, and during that week a number
of State buildings were also dedicated. The exposition was formally
opened with exceedingly brilliant ceremonies on May 1, 1893, and was
closed with an entire lack of formality on October 30, following, in
consequence of the assassination of Carter Harrison, mayor of Chicago,
two days before. Up to November 12, the receipts from all sources
aggregated $33,290,065, and the expenditures, $31,117,353. The total
number of paid admissions, excluding those prior to the opening and
after the closing, was 21,477,218, and of all, 27,529,400; smallest
single-day number, 10,791; largest, on “Chicago Day,” 729,203. In all
there were 65,422 exhibitors, and medals were awarded to 23,757 of
them, the jury examining and reporting on more than 250,000 separate
exhibits.
Present space will only permit the briefest summarizing of this
greatest of all international expositions hitherto held,—matchless
in extent, in completeness of composition, in grandeur of setting.
A pleasing evidence of the influence the undertaking was expected
to yield is found in the remarkably large number of international
congresses that were held during its progress. This feature alone
called for 1245 separate sessions, at which there were 5974 speakers
and a special attendance of more than 700,000 persons, chiefly adults.
Almost every conceivable branch of human thought and effort had its
individual congress. Particularly noticeable among these formal
gatherings was the Parliament of Religions, in which Christian,
Protestant, Catholic, Jew, and Buddhist expounded their doctrinal
beliefs and narrated the story of their sectarian progress and hopes.
The Cotton States’ and International Exposition, opened in Atlanta
on September 18, 1895, had its origin in two purposes: the first, to
give the industrial conditions of the Southern States a more adequate
display than they had at Chicago, owing to the constitutional inability
of their Legislatures to appropriate public money for such a purpose;
the second, to promote larger trade relations between the South and the
Latin-American republics and with Europe. It was set on foot by private
enterprise, and received its largest official aid from the city council
of Atlanta, which appropriated $75,000.
Piedmont Park, a tract of 189 acres, two miles from the centre of the
city, and memorable because traversed by the rifle-pits over which
General Sherman threw shells into the city thirty-one years before, was
selected as the site. In a natural dip of the ground an artificial lake
was constructed, covering thirteen acres, and around it the principal
buildings were erected. Not only the Southern, but many of the Northern
and Western States aided the enterprise with special buildings and
exhibits.