The age-herald., 1901-05-02
THE PAN-AMER|CAN
 EXPOSITION OPENS Large Crowds Passed Through
 the Great Gates. FIRST TICKET COST S5,OOO William HamIln Was Permitted To Buy the First Ticket, He Having
 Offered the Biggest Price.
 Great Show Ia On.
FIRST TICKET COST S5,OOO

Buffalo, May 1.--Tbe gates of the Pan American Exposition were thrown open this morning and notwithstanding it had rained all night and the weather condi- tions were threa tening large crowds were gathered at each of the gates and as the morning frightened the various routes to the grounds were well patronized by those who desired to be present at the opening.
 At S:30 o'clock the turnstiles clicked and the first of millions of people who will visit the beautiful Rainbow City during the six months of its existence, passed in- to the grounds to view and study the pro- ducts of American ingenuity and scien- tifc research and the resources of two continents of the Western Hemisphere which fill the magnificent buildings, beau tiful in their architectural designs, har- monious in their coloring and interior decoration.
 No ceremonies marked the opening of the gates. it having been decided by the management to combine the opening day B ceremonies with those of dedication day, May 2o The change in the date, however, did not cause a moments relaxation of the strenuous efforts being put forth by everyone connected with the exposition to have everything ready as nearly as possible for today's opening. The appear ances of the buildings and grounds this morning bore ample evidence of their ef- forts. The storm and the inevitable de- lays incident to any undertaking of this magnitude, made impossible the realiza- Nf ha hnn hof hfo xritxlaf ha he first of the great expositions to be com pleted on it's opening day
 But so much already has been wrought than was deemed possible at the inau- guration of the project that all are sat isfied with the extent and beauty of the fair as it appeared this morning. carried through from the beginning by the citi- zens of Buffalo, without state or federal aid.
 The First Ticket.
 William Hamlin was permitted by agree ment to purchase the first ticket, he hav- Ing offered some time ago to pay 5000 for the privilege The ticket was sent to him yesterday. At noon the paid admissions aggregated about $100O, the majority of the visitors being employees or others en- tering on passes. The weather continued threatening.
 At noon the government building was thrown open and General Brigham, pres ident of the Smithsonian exhibit, as well as of the national museum, the Interior Department, the Treasury Department, the Post Office Department. the Fish Commission and the Philippine exhibit were practically all complete in details and theN other departments not far be- hind.
 The naval exhibit includes models of all the types of warships now in the United States navy, among them the bat tleships Iowa and Texas, the cruiser Brooklyn, the ram Katahdin, the monitor Miantonomah the training ship Annapolis and the ill-fated Maine.
 Much of interest was to be seen in the building devoted to manufactures and liberal arts. Exhibits in the agricultural building were also assuming shape. In the Midway Bostocks animals, the In- dian Congress, the Hawaiian village, and others were ready for business and at- tracted many of the visitors.
 At o'clock salute of forty-f1ve aerial bombs were fired and simultaneously hum dreds of flags were raised on the buildings and grounds.
 At 8 o'clock this morning a number of pigeons were released. Thirty-flve went to oil City twenty-five to Cleveland and five each to Toledo and Pittsburg. Att tached to their legs was this mesage:
 ''The people of all the Americas: This message of greeting borne to you by car rier pigeons. announces the opening of the Pan-American Exposition and ex- tends to everyone an invitation to partic- ipate in the pleasure and bepefits of this six months festival.
 (signeO VIM. l. BUCHANAN,
 "Director-General"
 Buffalo, May 1. 1901.