Exhibiting

Louisiana Purchase Exposition

1904

Also known as the St. Louis World's Fair, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held from April 30 – December 1, 1904 and brought in over 19 million visitors. It was noted as the largest fair in terms of space and was comprised of over 1,500 temporary buildings. The exposition itself was constructed in Forest Park, an expansive public park in the heart of St. Louis. While the exposition was initially meant to be held in 1903 as a centennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase, developers pushed back the date to accommodate other site construction, allowing other countries and U.S. states to participate. In some ways, the exposition became an extension of the annual St. Louis Exposition, which was already held to commemorate numerous scientific and agricultural showcases.

The announcement of the St. Louis World’s Fair was announced in 1899 in Volume 1 of the World’s Fair Bulletin, which was followed by the newly formed Louisiana Purchase Exposition Corporation in 1901. This committee chose the group designated for the planning, design, construction of the fair. Issac S. Taylor served as the Chairman of the Architectural Commission and Director of Works, overseeing the general development of the exposition. Chosen as the Chief of Design, Emmanuel Louis Masqueray designed many buildings for the fair, including the Palace of Agriculture, Cascades and Colonnades, Palace of Forestry, Fish, and Game, Palace of Horticulture, and Palace of Transportation. Other palaces were erected to commemorate Education, Art, and Anthropology. Corresponding exhibitions and showcases were held in these palaces. Although the purpose of the fair was to celebrate medical and scientific advancements, education and art was also a key focus. Throughout the expositions, demonstrations were held to teach visitors how to use the various inventions on display.

Spanning over 1,200 acres, there was more than enough room for various attractions and events. Held at what was known as The Pike, visitors could experience international and American amusement park rides, games, and sporting events. These included historical exhibitions, zoo animals, cultural villages, war reenactments, and even a miniature railway. While visitors may have enjoyed the international exhibits, there was a dark side to the fair. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition served as the largest human zoo at the time. With hundreds of acres dedicated to these kinds of exhibitions, tens of thousands of people from countries in Africa, Asia, and South America, were exploited as "entertainment" for the visitors. "Reservations" were even built for those bought and forced on display. (Walter, The Largest Human Zoo)

One lasting result of the exposition was the City Beautiful Movement. George Kessler, a Kansas City based designer and proponent of the City Beautiful Movement, was brought on to design the grounds of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. This architectural and urban planning concept incorporates Beaux-Arts architecture's grandeur with natural elements within a city setting. For instance, the exposition palaces were constructed to mimic great halls flanked in colonnades, topped with large domes. Situated within Forest Park and on Washington University's campus, the fair's many pavilions were reminiscent of Greek and Roman architecture. The facades of the buildings regularly contained highly decorative surfaces with ornate accessories. One example of this style from the fair that remains to this day is the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Unlike the other thematic exhibition halls, the Palace of Fine Arts was constructed as a permanent structure intended to house a museum within its walls after the exhibition. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert,

Select Sources

Ives, Halsey Cooley, Halsey C. Ives Collection, 1876-1926, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, https://explore.searchmobius.org/record=b1045225~S15.

Nancy J. Parezo and Don D. Fowler, Anthropology Goes to the Fair: The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007).

Jennie Grace Marvin, "Louisiana Purchase," Journal of Education 59, no. 22 (1482) (1904): 342, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44059046.

Walter Johnson, “The Largest Human Zoo in World History: Visiting the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis,” Lapham’s Quarterly (April 14, 2020), https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/largest-human-zoo-world-history.

Elana V. Fox, Inside the World’s Fair of 1904: Exploring the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (Bloomington: 1st Books Library, 2003).

Louisiana Purchase Exposition: The St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 (St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society, 1979).

"The Museum School at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition," Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin 3, no. 2 (1905): 16, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4423241?refreqid=excelsior%3A7dfba95617b9553c03dcc4b7ff44ebaa&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

"The Louisiana Purchase Exposition," Journal of Education 60, no. 26 (1510) (1904): 442-443. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44066081?refreqid=excelsior%3A6d62506fd288c8f9999eb117dd992c31&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Pierre Chouteau, “All Hail to St. Louis’ World’s Fair,” Bradford’s World’s Fair Bulletin 1, no.1 (May 1899): 1, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A420051.

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