1900 Exposition Universelle Souvenir Medal, Eiffel Tower
date: label: Date made
content: 1900
notes: label: Description
content: Medal commemorating the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1900. Obverse marked "SOMMET DE LA TOUR EIFFEL [/] SOUVENIR [/] DE [/] L'ASCENSION;" depiction the upper third of the Eiffel Tower and view of Paris; reverse marked "1900;" depiction of laborers working on a portion of the tower.
label: Description
content: France ushered in the 20th century with their largest World’s Fair to date, 1900’s <i>Exposition Universelle.</i> Held between April and November, Paris’s sixth international exposition featured tens of thousands of exhibitors and attracted over 50 million visitors. Surrounded by a moving electric walkway and centered by a yellow-painted Eiffel Tower, guests encountered thematic buildings, national and colonial pavilions, an aquarium, an observatory, and amusements such as the “Grande Roue de Paris” Ferris Wheel and large-scale historical reenactments. Highlighting technological innovations like the electric car, celebrating the arts, (including the modern <i> Art Nouveau </i> style) and asserting France’s role as a colonial power using racist and dehumanizing displays of living peoples, the Fair also served as the site of the 1900 Olympic Games. Major architectural features built for the Exposition remain today, including the Grand Palais, the Gar d’Orsay, and the first section of the Paris Metro.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: France: Île-de-France, Paris
label: Associated Place
content: France: Île-de-France, Paris
topic: label: Subject
content: Expositions and Fairs
label: Subject
content: Olympics
label: Subject
content: Expositions and Fairs
label: related event
content: Exposition Universelle (1900)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Larry Zim World's Fair Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0438.0839
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0438.0839
label: accession number
content: 1989.0438
label: catalog number
content: P1900NM01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Medal
label: Object Name
content: medal, souvenir
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 5/8 in; x 4.1275 cm