World's Fairs (1853-1897):
A New Idea

 

How to Study the World's Fairs
The history of the World's Fairs is a fascinating topic that extends well beyond the story of amusement parks. The time from when the first American world's fair appeared in New York in 1851 to the last one in 1984 at New Orleans covers an immense time period in U.S. history. Beyond our shores, world's fairs were very influential with the countries that held them. In fact, World's fairs are still alive and well today in Asia, with many planned for the future. So the question is, how should we study this topic?

In their book Fair America, authors Rydell, Findling, and Pelle discuss no less than six different academic approaches to studying world's fairs. However, for purposes of this Web site, I will focus on the specific and unique aspect of amusements at these fairs. But I would be remiss in not at least mentioning some of the historic events and contexts of the various fairs. So let us begin!

It Started with the Crystal Palace
World's fairs began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark Crystal Palace in London, England. The purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world (of which Britain just so happened to be the leader). A single large building (1848' by 408') was constructed by greenhouse builder Joseph Paxton. This building actually resembled an enormous greenhouse and was highly regarded by all, including Queen Victoria. The fair itself was a great success with six million visitors and a total profit of over £186 thousand. Some Americans had successful exhibits during the London exposition. Cyrus McCormick's agricultural reapers and Samuel Colt's revolver firearms where big hits. Many more Americans made the trip across the Atlantic to see the event. After the fair closed, the Crystal Palace was disassembled and moved to Sydenham and rebuilt. There it remained until a fire in 1936 destroyed it.

A group of businessmen decided to have their own exposition in New York City. They acquired a parcel of land, next to the New York Public Library where Bryant Park is now, to construct New York's own Crystal Palace. The building opened three months late in July 1853 and, despite the public appearance of President Franklin Pierce, attendance did not meet expectations. Already in debt by $100,000 by 1854, the Association in charge of running the facility approached P.T. Barnum to rescue the venture. They had initially approached Barnum about running the exposition but he initially declined. This time he agreed, but to no avail. By July 1st of that year, he had resigned frustrated and exhausted. The Crystal Palace close in November with $300,000 in debt. In 1857, a fire broke out during a leased-out convention and burned the building to the ground. Fortunately, all 2,000 people were able to escape the building in time.

Obviously, the first foray into the world's fair realm for the United States was a failure. Unfortunately, it would only get worse for the young country. While world's fairs continued to have success in European cities like London, Paris, and Vienna, America would face the Civil War and the painful healing of Reconstruction.

A Second Try: Philadelphia's Exhibition of 1876
The Industrial Revolution in the United States was in full swing during the years following the Civil War. Businessmen (not women at this time - remember that the Woman's Suffrage Movement was still developing at this time) made a lot of money in establishing industries in the U.S. These powerful leaders again looked to the success of world's fairs overseas and their ability to build these nations and show off industrial prowess and wealth. The financial panic of 1873 convinced them that a world's fair in the U.S. was needed to assure the people that their vision of the future was the correct one. This attitude resulted in fairs that emphasized Anglo-Saxon superiority over other races, which became a common theme among all the American world's fairs leading up to World War I. What does this have to do with amusement parks? The answer will come at Chicago's first world's fair.

The first world's fair after the New York failure was the United States Centennial International Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876. As you can probably guess from the title and the date, the purported purpose of the exposition was to celebrate America's 100th birthday. What the planners hoped was that their displays of the U.S. agricultural and industrial progress would impress other nations enough to stimulate foreign trade. The organizers of the exposition obtained rights to Fairmont Park, which at 450 acres was the largest urban park in the U.S. at the time. With such a large site, designer Hermann J. Schwartzmann decided to use a multi-building layout for the event. There were large buildings for the main exhibits, smaller structures for U.S. states and foreign countries, and other small buildings for restaurants, stores, and support facilities. This layout would be adopted by all other world's fairs in the future. The fair itself was a success in terms of attendance, about ten million visitors, and a boost to foreign trade. One of the highlights was the display of the Statue of Liberty's arm and torch. It would be nine years later before she would be completed in New York's harbor. However, despite the interest, the event still lost money while independent business owners who set-up shop adjacent to Fairmont Park and made a handsome profit.

A Concept Tested: World's Fairs Around The Country
The success of the Philadelphia world's fair would inspire other American cities to create and host such events over the next 108 years. Visitors from the Southern states were particularly inspired and thought that hosting fairs would help their recovery from the Civil War. In 1881, Atlanta held the International Cotton Exposition at Oglethorp Park. The modestly sized, regional fair successfully showcased agricultural equipment and machinery but still closed with a small financial loss. In 1883, Louisville held the Southern Exposition, which was also a regional scale fair. The event successfully promoted Louisville as a transportation link between the North and the South and became an annual event for the next four years.

The World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition held in New Orleans in 1884-85, was on a much bigger scale than its two Southern predecessors. The Main Building alone could have housed the entire Atlanta exposition. The exposition marked the 100th anniversary of the first shipment of cotton from the U.S. to Europe. The fair featured the largest electric railway in the United States. Its three-mile track encircled the fairgrounds. The planners had hoped the fair would stimulate the use of New Orlean's port on the Mississippi River. But, due to its remote location, construction delays, and other factors, the fair was a failure with a net loss of close to $500 thousand (equivalent to over $9 million today!). It would be another eight years before the next world's fair would be held.

Thus far into this history, amusements have not played a significant role. That would change with the 1893 Columbian Exhibition held in Chicago, Illinois. These planners wanted to continue the message set by Philadelphia and New Orleans. However, they were also businessmen and need to ensure the fair at least paid for itself. The solution was a dedicated amusement concessions area called the Midway Plaisance. This area was extremely profitable and started the idea of an amusement park. In this era, the social elite frowned on commercialism, so they categorized the Midway as part of the ethnology department. However, Sol Bloom, who was charged with developing and running this area, was more interested in money than promoting the elitist's racial attitudes. He capitalized on the fascination (and ignorance) of fair visitors with these exotic places by creating interesting exhibits. The ethnic villages of the Midway stood in stark contrast to the imperial and whitewashed structures at the rest of the fair. This fair is such a pivotal point in the history of amusement parks that I have created a separate page just for the Columbian Exposition.

After the success at Chicago, California leaders decided to hold the California Midwinter International Exposition, starting in January 1894. The planners hoped to raise awareness across the country of the region's temperate climate. Many of the exhibits from Chicago were transported directly to the Golden Gate Park site in San Francisco. The most symbolic structure of the fair was a 266-foot tower with a searchlight. This tower motif would be continued at other fairs and become a focal point at Coney Island's Luna Park. The fair was a success as it brought 1.4 million visitors and a made a modest profit. Some of the imported attractions included the Streets of Cairo, Japanese Village, and an Eskimo habitat. While Ferris's wheel had a different destination, designer J. K. Firth built his own version of the wheel. Dante's Inferno, which featured a large dragon head as an entrance allowed guests to see burning lakes, dancing skeletons and other illusions.

Amusement Parks Take Form
With the exception of New Orleans, the world's fair concept was a hit with U.S. cities. The fairs appeared with regularity around country until the interruption of World War I. We pause at this time in history because the year is 1895. Paul Boyton is building his Sea Lion Park at Coney Island, Fredrick Thompson is about to discover a successful career creating attractions, and Thompson and Skip Dundy are about to meet and form a very equitable partnership.

The Cotton States & International Exposition held in Atlanta in 1895 continued the theme from San Francisco. The goal of this exposition was to foster trade between Southern states and South America. The midway, called the Terraces, featured the now traditional ethnic villages (Japanese, Eskimos, American Indians, etc.) and a Ferris wheel called the Phoenix Wheel. The exposition did not attract the expected number of attendees and ended with a significant fiscal loss. The city purchased the site and converted it to Piedmont Park.

Despite the struggles of the Georgian capital, Tennessee decided to hold its own world's fair to celebrate the 100th anniversary of statehood in 1896. The exposition, held at West Side Park in Nashville, TN, was also to showcase the New South from antebellum to industrialized. Due to funding problems, the exposition did not open until 1897. The midway, dubbed Vanity Fair, featured ethnic villages, such as the Streets of Cairo, a Shoot-the-Chutes, and a Giant See-Saw where two large carriages alternated being raised 150 feet into the air. Nashville was the first city to have its exposition attend by President McKinley.

Conclusion
At the close of the 19th Century, world's fairs had been proven to boost local economies and to, at least in part, help convey the message of the planners. The fact that such events were planned with much backing from the private sector meant that the financial bottom line could not be ignored. It took the early entrepreneurs to demonstrate that Americans would pay to be entertained and were eager to be involved in a variety of experiences. These fairs would continue to be held during most of the 20th Century. However, at our current point in history, the U.S. is about to enter a war that will change the character of the nation. The next world's fairs would wrestle with this new concept of an imperial America.

 

U.S. World's Fairs

Location

Year(s) Highlights
New York 1853-54 First US world's fair, Crystal Palace, failure!
Philadelphia 1876 First US multi-building fair
New Orleans 1884 First major Southern fair, failure!
Chicago 1893 Creation of the Midway, Ferris wheel, ethnic villages
San Francisco 1894 First West Coast fair, exhibits from Chicago fair
Atlanta 1895  
Nashville 1897 Thompson's first attractions

Spanish - American War (Feb - Dec 1898)

Omaha 1898 Thompson and Dundy meet
Buffalo 1901 Thompson and Dundy join forces
Charleston 1901-02  
Saint Louis 1904  
Hampton Roads 1907  
Seattle 1909  
San Francisco 1915  
San Diego 1915-16  

U.S. Fights World War I (Apr 1917 - Nov 1918)

Philadelphia 1926  
Chicago 1933-34  
San Diego 1935  
Cleveland 1936  
Dallas 1936  
California 1939  
New York 1939  
San Francisco 1940  

U.S. Fights World War II (Dec 1941 - Sep 1945)

Seattle 1962  
New York 1964-65 Disney creates four popular attractions
San Antonio 1968  
Spokane 1974  
Knoxville 1982  
New Orleans 1984  

 

 

Location Attendance Operation
London   01 May 1851 - 11 Oct 1851
Paris 5,162,330 15 May 1855 - 15 Nov 1855
Paris 15,000,000 01 Apr 1867 - 31 Oct 1867
Vienna   01 May 1873 - 01 Nov 1873
Philadelphia 10,000,000 10 May 1876 - 10 Nov 1876
Paris 16,156,626 05 May 1878 - 10 Nov 1878
New Orleans   1884
Antwerp, Belgium   1885
London   1886
Glasgow, Scotland   1888
Melbourne, Australia   1888
Paris   1889
Chicago   1893
San Francisco   1894
Atlanta   1895
Brussels, Belgium   1897
Paris   1900
Buffalo   1901
Saint Louis   1904
Liege, Belgium   1905
Milan, Italy   1906
Dublin, Ireland   1907
Hampton Roads   1907
Seattle   1909
Brussels   1910
Turin, Italy   1911
Ghent, Belgium   1913
San Francisco   1915
San Diego   1915-16
Rio de Janiero   1922-23
Wembly, UK   1924-25
Paris   1925
Philadelphia   1926
Barcelona, Spain   1929
Seville, Spain   1930
Anwerp, Belgium   1930
Liege, Belgium   1930
Paris   1931
Chicago   1933-34
Brussels   1935
Paris   1937
New York   1939
San Francisco   1940
Brussels   1958
Seattle   1962
New York   1964-65
Montreal   1967
San Antonio   1968
Osaka, Japan   1970
Spokane   1974
Okinawa, Japan   1975
Knoxville   1982
New Orleans   1984
Tsukuba, Japan   1985
Vancouver   1986
Brisbane, Australia   1988
Seville, Spain   1992
Genoa, Italy   1992
Taejon, South Korea   1993
Lisbon, Portugal   1998
Hanover, Germany   2000
Aichi Prefecture, Japan   2005
Zaragoza, Spain   2008
Shanghai, China   2010
     

 

Source: http://expomuseum.com

 

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Prehistory
Colombian Exhibition
Coney Island
Trolley Parks
Early World Fairs
World Fairs Amusements
Disney History
EPCOT History
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