World Cotton Centennial | |
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Overview | |
BIE-class | Unrecognized exposition |
Name | World Cotton Centennial |
Area | 249 acres (101 ha) |
Location | |
Country | United States |
City | New Orleans, Louisiana |
Venue | Audubon Park (New Orleans) |
Coordinates | 29°56′03″N90°07′25″W / 29.93417°N 90.12361°W |
Timeline | |
Opening | December 16, 1884 |
Closure | June 2, 1885 |
The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United States was handled in New Orleans and the city was home to the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, the idea for the fair was first advanced by the Cotton Planters Association. The name "World Cotton Centennial" referred to the earliest-surviving record of export of a shipment of cotton from the U.S. to England in 1784.
The U.S. Congress lent $1 million to the fair's directors and gave $300,000 for the construction of a large U.S. Government & State Exhibits Hall on the site. [1] However, the planning and construction of the fair was marked by corruption and scandals, and state treasurer Edward A. Burke absconded abroad with some $1,777,000 of state money including most of the fair's budget. [2] Despite such serious financial difficulties, the Fair succeeded in offering many attractions to visitors.
The Centennial covered 249 acres (101 ha), stretching from St. Charles Avenue to the Mississippi River, and was notable in that it could be entered directly by railway, steamboat, or ocean-going ship. The main building enclosed 33 acres (13 ha) and was the largest roofed structure constructed up to that time. It was illuminated with 5,000 electric lights (still a novelty at the time, and said to be ten times the number then existing in New Orleans outside of the fairgrounds). There was also a Horticultural Hall, an observation tower with electric elevators, and working examples of multiple designs of experimental electric street-cars. The Mexican exhibit was particularly lavish and popular, constructed at a cost of $200,000, and featuring a huge brass band that was a great hit locally. [3] [4]
On December 16, 1884, U.S. President Chester Arthur opened the fair via telegraph (two weeks behind schedule). [1] It closed on June 2, 1885. In an unsuccessful attempt to recover some of the financial losses from the Fair, the grounds and structures were reused for the North Central & South American Exposition from November 10, 1885, to March 31, 1886, with little success.[ citation needed ] After this the structures were publicly auctioned off, most going only for their worth in scrap.
The site today is Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo in Uptown New Orleans.
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, held in Jackson Park, was a large water pool representing the voyage that Columbus took to the New World. Chicago won the right to host the fair over several competing cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American architecture, the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago's image.
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Audubon Zoo is an American zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages Audubon Aquarium, Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, Freeport-McMoran Species Survival Center, Audubon Park, and Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network. It covers 58 acres (23 ha) and is home to over 2,000 animals. It is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of Magazine Street. The zoo and park are named in honor of artist and naturalist John James Audubon who lived in New Orleans starting in 1821.
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The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide exposition held in Portland, Oregon, United States in 1905 to celebrate the centennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. While not officially considered a World's Fair by the Bureau of International Expositions, it is often informally described as such; the exposition attracted both exhibits and visitors from around the world. During the exposition's four-month run, it attracted over 1.6 million visitors, and featured exhibits from 21 countries. Portland grew from 161,000 to 270,000 residents between 1905 and 1910, a spurt that has been attributed to the exposition.
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Evelyn Walton Ordway was an American chemist, suffragist and university professor at Newcomb College in New Orleans. She was a chemistry and physics professor at Newcomb College for seven years and was active in the Louisiana women's suffrage movement, becoming the first president of the Louisiana State Suffrage Association.