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“The Great Balancing Act at Buffalo”
It takes the Yankee nation To make equilibration.
But every time you turn around
Pop! goes the Kaiser!
(With apologies to the Weasel.)
This Harper's Weekly cartoon by Albert Levering presents the
Pan-American Exhibition of 1901 as a cooking pan collectively held aloft by
happy personifications of Latin American nations. Symbolically atop the
pan is a gigantic Uncle Sam who uses the Monroe Doctrine for stability in his
delicate balancing act. The lighthearted verse (to the tune of "Pop
Goes the Weasel") describes the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II as an
unpredictable threat of European intervention in the Western Hemisphere.
Coming in the wake of the Spanish-American War (1898), the Pan-American
Exposition occurred at a time when the United States was expanding commercially,
politically, and even militarily in Latin America. Its expressed purpose
was to promote the economic interests and purported solidarity of the Western
Hemisphere. The festival was similar to World's Fairs in emphasizing
technology, but differed from them in not celebrating a historical event and in
the more limited regional origins of the participating countries. (For
comparison of the Pan-American Exhibition with a World's Fair, read about the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.)
Planning for the event began in 1897 with the formation of the Pan-American
Exposition Company, but was delayed by the Spanish-American War. Buffalo,
New York, was chosen as the host city, and in July 1898, Congress allocated
$500,000 for the project. In close proximity to the popular tourist
attraction of Niagara Falls, Buffalo was easily accessible by railroad and
boasted more paved streets (all with electric streetlights) than any other city
in the world. In 1899, Exposition organizers leased 350 acres of farmland
a half-hour drive from downtown and began construction of the buildings and landscaping of
the grounds. Opening ceremonies were held on May 1, 1901, and 8 million
visitors over six months paid the 50˘ entrance fee (half-price on
Sundays). Daily attendance averaged over 40,000 between August and closing
day on November 1, 1901.
The grounds of the Pan-American
Exposition were laid out in an inverted T, and were nicknamed "Rainbow
City" because of the brightly colored buildings painted by John Ross
Key. A 375-foot-tall electrical tower, topped by a Goddess of Light
statue, was powered by Niagara Falls and illuminated the entire area.
Intending the wood-framed buildings to be temporary structures, designers
fashioned plaster on chicken wire to resemble stone facades (creating a gooey
problem during the rainy summer). The only exception was the New York
State Building, which was built to last in white marble and today houses the
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
The United States government
erected three buildings housing exhibits from federal departments and
agencies, as well as from the new American dependencies of Hawaii,
Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. The most popular of the
U.S. government exhibits was the Patent Office section, where visitors
could see x-rays revealing their skeletons, a telephone switchboard in
operation, various types of motion-picture machines, pictures sent by
telegraph, electric typewriters, and numerous other contraptions, some
of which never gained a mass or niche market.
The Machinery and
Transportation Building housed agricultural machinery, automobiles,
bicycles, boats, horse carriages, railroads, and steam engines.
The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building showcased manufactured
products from the member nations. Among the interesting gadgets on
display were cash registers, automatic addressing machines, shoe-making
machines, gas stoves, decorative fixtures for the formerly austere
bathroom, and food-processing and -packaging apparatuses. The
building also contained exhibits on jewelry, glassware, silverware, and
textiles. The Liberal Arts department featured mechanical musical
instruments, such as electric organs and player pianos. Music
concerts on holidays of the participating nations were held in the
2200-seat auditorium of the ornate Temple of Music, as were daily
recitals of one of the largest pipe organs in the United States.
The Agriculture Building
addressed the advances and challenges of scientific and mechanized
farming, while the Horticulture Building sheltered an array of flowers
and plants from the different nations. A nearby conservatory
housed food-plants, including teas, spices, fruit trees, and a miniature
coffee plantation. The Mines Buildings presented extraction
machinery, mineral ores, and metallurgy. The Ethnology Building
concentrated on American Indians artifacts, while paintings and
sculptures were found in the Art Building. Athletic competitions,
livestock and automobile exhibitions, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
took place in the Stadium. Nations and states also had their own
buildings. There were over 40 exhibits in the Midway section,
including replicas of an Eskimo village, African village, Japanese
village, German city (Nuremberg), Italian city (Venice), Southern (U.S.)
plantation, Cleopatra's Temple, and Heaven and Hell, along with a mirror
maze, upside-down house, airship to the "moon," and other
displays meant to entertain and educate.
The Pan-American Exhibition is best
remembered today as the site of the assassination of President William McKinley
in September 1901. For more information on that important event, check
back at this site in September 2003.
Robert C. Kennedy
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