This essay is a reprint from from a book entitled "Niagara Land: the First 200 Years," which in turn was a reprint of a series of essays published in "Sunday, the Courier Express Magazine" to celebrate the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial.
Table of ContentsBuffalo Builds the 1901 Pan-American Exposition
By Harold F. PetersonBetween May and November, 1901 Buffalo's Pan-American Exposition attracted more than 8,000,000 visitors. With a population of barely 350,000, the "Queen City of the Lakes" could exult in the stupendous achievement.
In the history of world expositions, the Pan-American has come to occupy a distinctive niche. It was the first to make extensive use of color and sculpture to achieve harmony in a general scheme of ornamentation. It was the first to adhere to a single all-encompassing theme and the first to recognize the concept of Pan-Americanism.
In earlier years Philadelphia and Chicago had set the tone for American expositions. But Philadelphia in 1876 had commemorated the nation's birth and Chicago in 1893, the discovery of the New World. In contrast, skeptics wondered, what could Buffalo offer as justification for its world exposition? Well, more perhaps than many Buffalonians of the 1970s may realize.
Fortuitously, by focusing the nation's attention on Cuba and Puerto Rico, the recent Spanish-American War had dramatized the possibilities of new markets in Latin America. What more worthy theme, then, than "Pan America"!
Their city in 1900 could boast the world's fourth busiest harbor, its annual tonnage quintupling that carried by the Suez Canal. Its 19 miles of waterfront,. 12 steamship lines, 26 railroads, and 52 grain elevators made it a preeminent point of trans-shipment. It had become the world's largest coal-distributing center and the nation's leading market for flour and sheep.
But it was three epochal events in the late 1890s that sharpened Buffalo's confidence in its future: the availability of high-grade iron ore from Minnesota's Mesabi Range; the decision of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel company to move to Lake Erie shores, and, above all, the arrival of cheap hydroelectric energy from Niagara Falls. "Niagara Power will make Buffalo the greatest city in the world!" prophesied Nikola Tesla, famed Westinghouse electrical engineer and inventor.
Upon this confluence of circumstances enterprising leaders built their heavily but hazardous dream. Somehow, they generated the civic pride to conceive, finance, and produce a distinctive world exposition.
Mayor Conrad Dehl headed delegations to secure state and national endorsement. Lawyer John G. Milburn became the Pan-American Exposition Company's president, journalist Edwin Fleming, its secretary, and lumberman John N. Scratcherd, chairman of its executive committee. Other prominent Buffalo names appeared on the roster of officers and directors: Barid, Birge, Carleton, Goodyear, Hamlin, Hengerer, Huntley, Pierce, Sprgue, Urban, Williams.
Foremost among their aims was the determination to herald Buffalo's emergence a great commercial-industrial center. But a world exposition must have a guiding theme to compliment its economic motivation. Fortuitously, by focusing the nation's attention on Cuba and Puerto Rico, the recent Spanish-American War had dramatized the possibilities of new markets in Latin America. What more worthy theme, then, than "Pan America"! Pleased with these plans, President McKinley assured the promoters, "I shall be very glad to do anything I can for Buffalo".
Exposition authorities promptly realized the need to engage a qualified professional to coordinate all phases of their project. Upon the recommendation of Daniel H. Burnham, architect of the new Ellicott Square building, they found their man -- William H. Buchanan of Sioux City and Chicago, experienced chief of four exhibit divisions at the World's Columbian. More recently, as United States minister to Argentina, he had established close connections with the White House and become a enthusiastic supporter of the Pan- American idea.
Among 20 exposition sites considered, the company directors selected a 350-acre tract at the western extremity of Delaware Park. In final form the grounds extended from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood and from Park Lake northward to present Great Arrow.
Among 20 exposition sites considered, the company directors selected a 350-acre tract at the western extremity of Delaware Park. In final form the grounds extended from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood and from Park Lake northward to present Great Arrow.
The Exposition's grand design suggested a Roman Forum pattern. Stretching from the 410-foot Electric Tower at the north to the Triumphal Bridge at the south, the central plaza incorporated the spacious Court of Fountains and the vast Esplanade, capable of accommodating 250,000 persons for concerts and assemblies. Various exhibit buildings, as well as the popular but ill-fated Temple of Music, flanked this inner core. To the northeast was the 12,000 seat stadium and to the northwest was the attractions of the Midway. Somewhat isolated to the southwest was the New York State Building, now the home of the Buffalo and Eric County Historical Society.
To provide a scenic backdrop, no part of the grounds lacked the landscaping upon which the sponsors had insisted. A system of lagoons and interconnecting canals encircled the exhibit area. A thousand Lombardy poplars and hundreds of monumental cedar trees lined the walkways. Rose gardens, flower beds, and pergolas abounded. More than 800 pieces of statuary adorned buildings and mails.
But colorful buildings and scenic vistas alone, could not guarantee a successful exposition. At the outset, therefore, they projected a diversified program of educational and recreational attractions. Representative exhibits from most of the states and many Hemisphere nations and colonies would emphasize the New World's readiness to advance into the Twentieth Century In all, 1045 railroad cars would be needed to bring in display materials - some live, some inanimate.
Throughout the summer the Temple of Music would serve as the center for the live performances. Twenty-five instrumental organizations, including Sousa's Band and Victor Herbert's orchestra, would grace its stage. Seventy-one artists would test its custom-built organ. Nationally known speakers, including President McKinley, Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt, Secretary of State John Hay, and Senator Cabot Lodge would use its platform.
For recreational outlets, patrons could choose from diverse offerings in the stadium (baseball games, sham battles, fireworks displays, military drills) and from 296 concessions along the Midway. Here the "Scenic Railway" carried more than a million "tourists" while other attractions like "Beautiful Orient" and "Venice in America" enjoyed steady popularity.
However satisfying to its eight-million patrons, the Exposition was not without problems for its promoters. Costs soared from a projected ceiling of $4,250,000 to nearly $7-million. Inability to secure monetary assistance from city, state, or national governments rendered precarious the Company's financial structure and assured losses to its investors.
Stretching from the 410-foot Electric Tower at the north to the Triumphal Bridge at the south, the central plaza incorporated the spacious Court of Fountains and the vast Esplanade, capable of accommodating 250,000 persons for concerts and assemblies. . . . To the northeast was the 12,000 seat stadium . . . . A system of lagoons and interconnecting canals encircled the exhibit area.
This shortage of funds combined with labor problems and freakish weather to upset construction timetables. Through the winter of 1900-1901, snow, rains, and gale winds damaged half-completed structures and turned roadways into quagmires. The wettest May in seven years and the coldest June in thirty sharply curtailed attendance during the early summer.
But no aspect of their summer's responsibilities was as grievous for the Exposition officials as the deaths of two distinguished visitors - the Chilean minister to Washington and the President of the United States. Even with the exercise of good taste and appropriate ceremony, it was difficult for Buffalonians to reconcile the loss of a president, especially one who had regarded the Pan-American Exposition as "my Exposition."
By November 2 the Exposition had ground to a hat. Its once proud estate was ready for demolition squads, curiosity seekers, youthful scavengers, and a few security guards.
In preparing his final report Director General Buchanan was lavish in appraising the Exposition's benefits. For the nation and the Hemisphere it had fulfilled the mission projected by its sponsors - the promotion of "commercial well being and good understanding" among the American Republics. For western New York it had brought general growth in bank deposits and trust accounts, steady employment and rising wage scales to labor, and new prestige to Buffalo as "a city of enterprise, stability, and business energy."
About the Author
Harold F. Peterson is distinguished professor emeritus at Buffalo State College. His biography of Director general William I. Buchanan is being published by SUNY Press.
Page by Chuck LaChiusa
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