| Greater America Exposition | |
|---|---|
 Grand Court with red brick walkways | |
| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Unrecognized exposition |
| Name | Greater America Exposition |
| Visitors | 845,000 |
| Organized by | George Miller |
| Location | |
| Country | United States of America |
| City | Omaha |
| Venue | Kountze Park |
| Coordinates | 41°17′29″N 95°56′21″W / 41.2914798°N 95.9391403°W |
| Timeline | |
| Opening | July 1, 1899 |
| Closure | October 31, 1899 |
The Greater America Exposition was a world's fair held on North Omaha, Nebraska from July 1 to October 31, 1899. [1]
Formation
After the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition exhibition a group of investors decided to retain some of the buildings and hold a second season at Kountze Park in 1899 with a new theme. [2] President McKinley expressed support for the exhibition as an opportunity to show America's new colonial possessions following the Spanish–American War. [2]
Grounds
The grounds were refurbished with 500 staff patching and painting buildings and replanting flower beds. [1] And the concrete walkways were replaced by red brick ones. [1]
Buildings
There were agriculture, [3] apiary, [4] colonial exhibits, [5] dairy, [6] fine arts and liberal arts, [7] horticulture, [8] international, [9] manufactures, [10] and mines and mining, [11] buildings, a machinery hall, [12] a 520 by 150 feet United States pavilion, [13] and auxiliary buildings including press, fire, police and a hospital. [14]
New possessions
One March 18, 1899 the government agreed to transport agents to fetch exhibits from Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines and Porto Rico. [2]
60 tubs of Hawaiian plants were destroyed when customs officials dumped the Hawaiian shipment, [2] and a second Hawaiian shipment went missing between San Francisco and Omaha. [2] After the exhibition some of the Hawaiian exhibits were sent to a forthcoming Paris exhibition. [2]
The Cuban village included over 700 snakes, a garrotte and the hangman Valentine Ruiz. [2]
The Philippines had planned to include monkeys, native birds and four water buffaloes. Six water buffaloes were shipped though only two water buffaloes arrived in Omaha. [2]
See also
- Treaty of Paris (1898) for the Treaty that led to the new possessions which McKinley wanted to show.
References
- ^ a b c Sasse (9 October 2015). "A History of the 1899 Greater America Exposition in North Omaha – North Omaha History". Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "1899 Greater America Expo Notes". Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 8–9.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 30.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 23–25.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 22.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 26–27.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 28–29.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 10.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 11–13.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 19–21.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. pp. 14–15.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 6.
- ^ Greater America Exposition: Map of Grounds, Diagram of Buildings. July 1, 1899. p. 18.
External links
- "Trans-Mississippi Exposition" by UNL and the University of Omaha has many images of the buildings at the fair.
- "A History of the 1899 Greater America Exposition" by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com