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Pan American Exposition. City of Light. What was the Pan Am?. The Pan American Exposition was a World’s Fair held in Buffalo New York from May 1 through November 2, 1901. It is most notable because United States President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz . .
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Pan American Exposition City of Light
What was the Pan Am? • The Pan American Exposition was a World’s Fair held in Buffalo New York from May 1 through November 2, 1901. It is most notable because United States President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz.
Secretary of StateJohn M. Hay - flag day speechJune 14, 1901 • "All the triumphs of the spirit and of the skilled hands of labor, the garnered treasures of science, the witcheries of art, the spoils of earth and air and sea are gathered here to warn, to delight, to encourage and reward the ever-striving, the indomitable mind of man."
What’s in a Name • “Pan” means across, or a union or community of interests. Therefore Pan-American means all the America's: North American, Central America, South America • Exposition – to display publicly
Chronology • 1890’s – committee formed to find a site in America for a trade fair • 1895 – Cotton Exposition in Atlanta Ga. Representatives from Central & South American Propose that the Pan-American should be held • June 1897 Pan-American exposition Co. was formed
Chronology Contd. • September 1897 – Cayuga Island near Niagara Falls chosen as site for the fair. • Plans for fair put off due to Spanish-American war in 1898. • When plans are discussed again there was rivalry between Niagara Falls and Buffalo over the location
Why was Buffalo Chosen? • Population in buffalo 350,000 had more commercial possibilities than the scenic value of Niagara Falls • Buffalo’s extensive rail system put Buffalo within a day’s journey of 40 Million Americans • Buffalo had the “facilities for displaying the new electric age into which the world was entering.” i.e. we were wired for the job!
Congressional Approval • July 1898 – in Congress “a pan-American Exposition will undoubtedly be of vast benefit to the commercial interests of the countries of North, South & Central America” • Congress set aside $500,000 for the Exposition to be held in 1901 • Purpose of the Exposition would be to highlight all of the Americas, their people cultures, and new technology.
Choosing a site • 20 sites proposed • Final choice was the Rumsey property together wit a portion of Delaware Park • Site consisted of 350 acres • East to West ½ mile wide from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave. • North to South 1 mile long from the New York Central RR belt line to Delaware Park • Easy access on three sides by existing Trolley lines.
Ground Broken • September 26, 1899 ground broken and construction began • City of Buffalo funds allocated to build a new casino and boat house to become a permanent addition to the Delaware Park • New York State Building constructed for $150,000 with funds from State, Buffalo, and Buffalo Historical Society – designed by George Cary – to become a permanent addition after the fair.
Opening Day May 1, 1901 • Noon – government buildings dedicated with informal exercises • 2PM – 45 aerial bombs fired from the Esplanade as a salute and all the flags unfurled to the tune of “The Star Spangled Banner” • 3PM – 3,000 homing pigeons were released from their cages to the tune of “Home Sweet Home”.
Opening Day contd. • The weather was almost perfect • 20,000 people were in attendance • Cost of admission was 50 cents and was lowered to 25 cents on Sunday because the Midway entertainments were closed due to pressure from religious groups.
Dedication day May 20, 1901 • Grand Parade from City Hall • Buffalo schools were closed • General Louis L. Babcock was grand marshal • Parade included 104 carriages, troops, and bands – stretched over 4 miles • Honored guests: Theodore Roosevelt Vice- President of U.S. , John G. Milburn – Exposition president, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Conrad Diehl, mayor of Buffalo
July 5th, 1901 • After attendance of 71,000 on July 4th, July 5th brought torrential rains early in the evening and an electrical storm • 1” of water fell on the city. City was w/o electricity • Trolley cars stranded – passengers stood on seats to keep dry • Children swam in the streets • Cellars flooded to dept of 4 & 5 feet • Water in East Ferry street was 3 feet deep
Attendance • Labor disputes and strikes slowed down building construction schedules as did unseasonable weather in late spring. • Many postponed attendance until after July 1 because rumor suggested that final completion could not be done until June 15. • Attendance actually increased after the death of President McKinley and thousands bought souvenirs of the unfortunate event.
What did they come to see? • Electric Tower • 400 feet high – taller than Buffalo’s City Hall • View included all of Buffalo, Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Canada – 20 miles away • Inside stairway led to domed cupola • Crowned by a gilded figure, the Goddess of Light
President’s DaySeptember 5 1901 • Evening of September 4th McKinley arrived on special train – 21 gun salute from cannons on the Terrace in downtown shattered windows in train. Met at train by Mr. Harry Hamlin. • President was to have attended on Flag Day but delayed due to wife’s illness • Biggest day of fair’s attendance 116,660
In Mourning • Exposition closed on Sept. 14th the day McKinley died and did not reopen until Sept. 16th. • It closed again on September 19th, the day of the President’s funeral in Canton Ohio
The Fair’s Last Day • Saturday, November 2, 1901 • Attendance of nearly 125,000 • Most buildings had closed the previous day • Midnight – 10 buglers in the Electric Tower sounded taps – signaled President Milburn to extinguish all of the decorative lights.
News Report • Illustrated Buffalo Express reported: • “All recall the beginning, the raw preceding days. The rainy succeeding days, the delays, the departure of labor, the day of dedication with its speeches and songs, its statesmen and poets and preachers, its music and rejoicing. Then followed the months of merry days, of State celebrations, of national ceremonies, of club and college and social days, of flag and Army and Navy and municipal days…. Then came the awful tragedy, the day of death, saddest of all days.” and now it was Closing Day
Success or Failure? • Officials estimated to meet expenses paid attendance must reach 8 million visitors • To make a profit attendance must reach 10 million paid admissions • Total paid admissions were only 5,306,859 • Free admissions were 2,813,189 • Total admissions to the Exposition were 8,120,048
Success or Failure contd. ? • The Exposition suffered a large financial loss. • U.S. Congress helped by appropriating $500,000 to help pay a large share of the debts. • People who attended became more familiar with the people, products and living conditions in the whole Western Hemisphere. • Fair pointed out the need for better trade relations between the America's
Results for Buffalo • Buffalo businesses prospered • Labor in Buffalo had several years of full employment at high wages • Local stores made higher than normal profits with sales in the millions of dollars • Bank deposits increased noticeably • Buffalo was in the National Spotlight which stimulated industrial growth in the city
Buffalo Remembered • The death of President McKinley overshadowed the rest of the Exposition. Buffalo, hoping to be seen as a prosperous, technologically-advanced city, would instead be seen as the city of the assassination
