1904: The Year St. Louis, Missouri Was the Most Important City in the World
By: Jennifer Mittler-Lee
Tags: Ideas, History, People, Life, Culture

1904: The Year St. Louis, Missouri Was the Most Important City in the World

The Government Building at the 1904 World’s Fair, David R. Francis/ Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

There’s a great scene in the 1944 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. The main character, played by the iconic Judy Garland, stands on an ornate bridge gazing around at the lights of the World’s Fair. She turns to her family and gushes about the spectacular scenery, “I can’t believe it. Right here where we live. Right here in St. Louis.”

Looking a St. Louis today, a delightful, but not quite world-class city, some may wonder how such an insignificant place hosted such an important event.

Palace of Electricity/ stereoscope card, Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons

From fur trading to manufacturing might

Founded in 1764 as a trading post for French fur traders, St. Louis grew and became a melting pot of cultures. German beer barons perfected lager-style beer, Irish immigrants erected soaring Catholic churches, and Italians living on “the Hill” created delicious recipes still enjoyed today.

St. Louis reached its peak popularity at the turn of the 20th century. By 1904, trolleys and horse-drawn carriages jostled each other on the roads. Steamboats, though becoming a rarer sight, transported passengers on the mighty Mississippi. Railroads carried goods in and out of the city, allowing industry to take off.

The opulent mansions on Lindell Boulevard also sported the latest inventions. Gas lighting replaced dangerous candles. Alexander Graham Bell’s innovative communication device, the telephone, gave St. Louisans the ability to converse with friends across the nation.

Typical of the time period, the best venue to showcase all of these new ideas would be a grand Expo. But St. Louis had another reason to celebrate. The 100 year anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase was coming up, and they wanted to show the world how far they’d come.

A Forest of a Park

St. Louis overcame their first hurdle to hosting the World’s Fair in 1898 when they successfully beat out Kansas City, their neighbors across the state.

Construction began on the 1,200 acres of what is today known as Forest Park. In the span of six years, builders erected 1,500 buildings and laid out 75 miles of connecting roads and pathways.

The majority of fairgoers would never realize that these palatial structures were a clever fake. Constructed of wooden frames coated with a special moldable plaster, these edifices were never meant to be permanent.

The Grand Basin/ Stereoscope Card/ Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Wonders and sights

Many marvelous sights greeted fairgoers on opening day April 30, 1904.

The Grand Basin, pleasure boats cruising its tranquil waters, served as the fair’s centerpiece. Over a dozen buildings flanked this artificial lake, including the Palaces of Electricity, Transportation, and Industry.

Inside these educational buildings, fairgoers were introduced to such innovations as the X-ray machine, the electric streetcar, and a wireless version of the telephone. However, the most popular new invention was undoubtedly the personal automobile. Models powered by steam, gasoline, and even electricity were displayed.

Invention is the mother of necessity, and park designers also developed a new technique to clean the city’s water supply. Most fairgoers probably weren’t even aware of this crucial project.

The crime of the decade

Another lifesaving device was on display at the fair. But this exhibit was marred by greed, ignorance, and inhumanity.

The field of neonatology had made little progress by the turn of the century. Though invented in 1888, incubators were not routinely used because hospitals did not expect premature babies to survive. Instead, preemies toured the country in sideshows. People would pay to gawk at these tiny weaklings struggling to survive in their incubators.

Surprisingly, these sideshow freaks often stood a better chance at survival than their counterparts left at home. The benefits of the incubators, warmth, and a more sterile environment, plus routine care by nurses meant that they often grew up to lead normal lives. Though profit was the motive for keeping these babies alive, the outcome was admirable.

Their impressive 85% survival rate all changed during the 1904 World’s Fair.

Instead of using the reliable contractors who normally ran these incubator exhibits, fair officials chose a well-connected St. Louisan. This local man, Edward Bayliss, brought in an inexperienced doctor to run the attraction.

The situation soon turned grim. Unsanitary conditions, unsuitable diet, and malfunctioning incubators meant that a heartbreaking 39 of the 43 babies on display died. The public responded by sending letters of condemnation to the fair’s president. Newspaper headlines shouted that the crime of the decade was being committed at the World’s Fair.

In response, a new doctor was brought on to manage the exhibit. Conditions improved, but the damage was done. Having witnessed the devastating scene in St. Louis, hospitals avoided using these lifesaving incubators for many years.

Transferring the Liberty Bell 1905/ Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

An important guest arrives

The Liberty Bell arrived in St. Louis on June 8, the farthest trip it had ever made.

From the train station, the bell toured the streets in style. It sat atop a specially designed float pulled by 13 horses representing the original states. Upon reaching the fairgrounds, the Liberty Bell was displayed in the Pennsylvania Building.

The Pike/ Stereoscope Card/Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Coming down the Pike

Promising both amusement and education, the mile-long Pike was the place to see and be seen.

Here guests would popularize foods like the waffle-style ice cream cone, cotton candy, and hamburgers. Dr. Pepper made its debut at the fair, as did puffed wheat cereal.

Exotic foods were also available for the adventurous to sample. Such delicacies as kumquats and olives became instant hits.

A cultural hub as well, the Pike showcased foreign places most St. Louisans could only dream of. Guests could visit Cairo, tour a Japanese village, and step back in time to Old St. Louis.

The Pike was also the place for the more scandalous exhibits that often appeared after dark. Belly dancing, palm reading, and taking in a show at the moving picture theater were all popular nighttime attractions.

Education or exploitation?

Though the theme of the World’s Fair was education, both technological and cultural, fair organizers couldn’t pass up the opportunity to promote a political agenda.

Imperialism, the concept of manifest destiny, and colonialism were scattered amidst the hubbub of rides and exhibits.

The end of the Spanish-American war saw the United States gain control over several new territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. People from these lands were subsequently brought to the fair and displayed in their “natural” surroundings.

Other exhibits included “savages” from Native American tribes, the Ainu people of Japan, Pygmies from South Africa, and Patagonian tribes.

“People were organized in a way we would recognize as racist. In our eyes today it is appalling. For 1904 eyes, it was an opportunity to try to understand other cultures.” said Adam Kloppe, public historian at the Missouri Historical Society.

Though the indigenous people were instructed to behave like savages, this didn’t stop interracial dates from occurring between Filipino men and white “society” ladies. The scandal nearly resulted in a riot.

1904 Olympic Games Poster/ Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chicago’s loss, St. Louis’ gain

With all the excitement surrounding the fair, it seems unimaginable that St. Louis would be willing and able to host another gigantic event.

The city of Chicago originally won the bid to host the 1904 Summer Olympics. However, they lost out due to a technicality. World’s Fair organizers wouldn’t allow another international venue to occur at the same time. Hence, they decided to hold the Olympics in St. Louis from August 29 until September 3.

Boxing, freestyle wrestling, and the decathlon all debuted at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Notable athletes included gymnast George Eyser who, although hindered by a wooden leg, managed to win six medals. Frank Kugler only won four medals, but they were in three different sports — freestyle wrestling, weightlifting, and the tug of war. This distinction made Kugler the only competitor to win a medal in three different categories at the same Olympic Games.

A cultural disaster

In order to tie the World’s Fair to the Olympics, organizers held Anthropology Days on August 12th and 13th. This event included participants from the indigenous tribes.

Day one featured mostly European-style sports — the shot-put, high jump, and marathon. With little time to learn the rules and even less time to practice, most of the events went poorly.

The organizers had higher hopes for the second day’s more “savage-friendly” contests of archery, tree-climbing, and mud throwing. But the participants performed just as badly, and viewer turnout remained low.

Thankfully, the Olympic Games organizers never repeated another Anthropology Days, but there was still another scandal to emerge.

Race to the finish

The marathon is always a popular event. A simple concept, a footrace that challenges participants both physically and mentally. No special equipment needed, and nearly impossible to cheat. Until Fred Lorz decided to hitch a ride back to the stadium in a car.

He rode for 11 miles, waving to both spectators and runners until the car broke down. Newly refreshed, Lorz ran the rest of the way and passed the finish line first.

Naturally, his exploits were revealed, and his gold medal stripped away.

His response? He only finished as a joke. The organizers were not amused and banned him from competing for a year. However, he came back strong in 1905 and won the Boston Marathon.

Tom Hicks, Marathon Olympic Champion and his supporters at the marathon. St. Louis Olympic Games, 1904/ Public Domain/Wikimedia

Gatorade or strychnine?

The actual winner, Thomas Hicks, also had an interesting time. Ten miles from the finish and at the end of his rope, Hicks wanted nothing more than to lay down and quit.

His trainers had other ideas though. They administered several doses of the poisonous stimulant strychnine mixed with brandy to keep him going.

This concoction gave Hicks the edge he needed to finish, though by the end of the race he was hallucinating and barely able to walk. His trainers supported him as he crossed the finish line and immediately handed him over to medical personnel.

End of an era

On December 2, 1904, the lights in the fair went out for the final time. Shortly after, demolition crews broke apart the Palaces, the Ferris Wheel, and tore up the Pike.

St. Louis would also enter a period of decline, beginning in the 1950s as manufacturing went overseas and the city’s population migrated to the suburbs.

Today, Forest Park holds only a few remnants from the fair.

The magnificent Palace of Fine Art now houses the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Originally built by the Smithsonian Institution to showcase rare species of birds, the Flight Cage was meant to return to Washington DC after the fair. However, St. Louisans rallied and fought to keep the monument. It became the centerpiece for the Saint Louis Zoo and remains one of the most popular exhibits.

All St. Louisans still remember that for one year in 1904, their city was the most important in the world. The World’s Fair and the Summer Olympics happened. And they happened right here. Right here in St. Louis.