St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall

Last updated
1888 illustration St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall.jpg
1888 illustration
1901 postcard Exposition Building, St. Louis, Mo (NYPL b12647398-62342).tiff
1901 postcard

St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall was an indoor exposition hall, music hall and arena in St. Louis, Missouri from 1883 to 1907.

Three national presidential nominating conventions were held in three separate buildings in or near the complex between 1888 and 1904 including the 1888 Democratic National Convention, 1896 Republican National Convention, and 1904 Democratic National Convention. In addition to the 1904 Democratic convention, it was used as a large venue for other conventions and congresses during the 1904 World's Fair. [1]

The 502 by 332 ft (153 by 101 m) exposition hall was built initially at a cost of $750,000. It was designed by Jerome Bibb Legg and completed in 1884. Legg's most prominent extant building is Academic Hall at Southeast Missouri State University. [1]

Originally built to house the St. Louis Exposition, an annual fair, it covered 6 acres (2.4 ha) at Olive and 13th Streets and was one of the first buildings in the country to have electric lights.

The Music Hall, which was a home for the St. Louis Symphony, had a stage which could accommodate 1,500 people and claimed to be one of the world's largest. Its seating capacity was 3,500. [2]

In the winter of 1896 the Republican National Convention planned to be in a rebuilt permanent building in the center. However, it was determined that it would not be ready in time for the convention so a temporary wooden convention was erected on the lawn south of City Hall (three blocks south of the Exposition Hall). The temporary structure was erected within sixty days at cost of $60,000 including decorations. [3]

Arena/convention hall in 1904 The Coliseum in St Louis 1904 (internal view).jpg
Arena/convention hall in 1904

Following the 1896 Convention, the temporary structure as well as the Exposition building were torn down and a new Coliseum was built on the site of the Exposition Building. The new Coliseum had an arena of 112 by 222 ft (68 m) with an 84 ft (26 m) ceiling. It had a single span trussed roof, with no columns or obstructions. The seating capacity was 7,000 but could be expanded to 12,000. It was rated at 10,500 for its 1904 convention. [4]

The whole structure including the new Coliseum and Music Hall were torn down in 1907 when the St. Louis Central Library was built at its location and the new St. Louis Coliseum was constructed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Purchase Exposition</span> 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis

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 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.

The Colosseum is an elliptical amphitheater in Rome, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Coliseum</span> Arena in Illinois, United States

Chicago Coliseum was the name applied to three large indoor arenas, which stood at various times in Chicago, Illinois, from the 1860s to 1982. They served as venues for large national conventions, exhibition halls, sports events, and entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1896 Republican National Convention</span> Political convention

The 1896 Republican National Convention was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City, Missouri)</span> Multi-purpose hall in Kansas City, Missouri

Municipal Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. It opened in 1935 and features Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture and architectural details.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center</span> Indoor arena in Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, commonly known simply as the Philadelphia Civic Center, was a convention center complex located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It developed out of a series of buildings dedicated to expanding trade which began with the National Export Exhibition in 1899. The two most significant buildings in the complex were the original main exhibition hall built in 1899, which later housed the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, and the Municipal Auditorium, later called the Convention Hall, which was built in 1931 to the designers of architect Philip H. Johnson. The site was host to national political conventions in 1900, 1936, 1940 and 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Olympic Field</span> Stadium at St. Louis, Missouri

Francis Olympic Field is a stadium at Washington University in St. Louis that was used as the main venue for the 1904 Summer Olympics. It is currently used by the university's track and field, cross country, football, and soccer teams. It is located in St. Louis County, Missouri on the far western edge of the university's Danforth Campus. Built in time for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the stadium once had a 19,000-person seating capacity, but stadium renovations in 1984 reduced the capacity to 3,300 people. It is one of the oldest sports venues west of the Mississippi River that is still in use. Francis Olympic Field now uses artificial turf that can be configured for both soccer and football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton Coliseum</span>

The Burton Coliseum, built in 1976, is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cincinnati Music Hall</span> United States historic place

Music Hall, commonly known as Cincinnati Music Hall, is a classical music performance hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, completed in 1878. It serves as the home for the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In January 1975, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior for its distinctive Venetian Gothic architecture. The building was designed with a dual purpose – to house musical activities in its central auditorium and industrial exhibitions in its side wings. It is located at 1241 Elm Street, across from the historic Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine, minutes from the center of the downtown area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention Hall</span>

Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial Exposition Building</span> Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

The Industrial Exposition Building was located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The building stood from 1886 to 1940 and was briefly the tallest structure in Minneapolis. In addition to smaller local exhibitions, it was the site of the 1892 Republican National Convention, the only major party convention to be held in Minnesota until the 2008 Republican National Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 Democratic National Convention</span> American presidential nominating convention

The 1904 Democratic National Convention was an American presidential nominating convention that ran from July 6 through 10 in the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. Breaking with eight years of control by the Democratic Party's reform wing, the convention nominated conservative Judge Alton B. Parker of New York for president and Henry G. Davis of West Virginia for vice president.

The 1916 Democratic National Convention was held at the St. Louis Coliseum in St. Louis, Missouri from June 14 to June 16, 1916. It resulted in the nomination of President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall for reelection.

The 1888 Democratic National Convention was a nominating convention held June 5 to 7, 1888, in the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. It nominated President Grover Cleveland for reelection and former Senator Allen G. Thurman of Ohio for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchants Exchange Building (St. Louis)</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Coliseum</span> Convention center in Missouri, United States

The St. Louis Coliseum was a venue in St. Louis, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Louis Exposition</span> Series of annual agricultural and technical fairs

The Saint Louis Exposition or St. Louis Expo was a series of annual agricultural and technical fairs held in St. Louis' Fairgrounds Park, from the 1850s to 1902. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a major World's Fair, was held in St. Louis, Missouri. The annual agricultural/technical exposition was not held in 1903-4, and ceased after the World's Fair. Memorabilia from the annual St. Louis Expositions are sometimes confused with 1904 World's Fair memorabilia on auction websites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington University Hilltop Campus Historic District</span> Historic district in Missouri, United States

The Washington University Hilltop Campus Historic District was the site of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the 1904 Summer Olympics. Many of the exposition buildings were temporary in nature, but a number of permanent structures were built and are used by Washington University, which calls this area the Danforth Campus. The district includes more than fifty structures, of which twenty are in the Collegiate Gothic style.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

References