World’s Fair Exhibit Opening Weekend

The 1904 World’s Fair was a complex, fascinating event that continues to evoke a range of emotions. It was grand and shameful. It was full of fun and full of indignity. Now, 120 years after it opened in St. Louis, the 1904 World’s Fair exhibit at the Missouri History Museum will reintroduce you to the Fair and its legacy in a way you’ve never experienced before.

St. Louis was the center of the world in 1904. With multicultural exhibitions and architectural marvels that swept across nearly 1,200 acres of Forest Park, the 1904 World’s Fair (also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) was truly larger than life. Twenty million visitors attended this pivotal event in St. Louis history—one that continues to attract both awe and criticism over a century later.

Today the World’s Fair has taken on an almost mythical significance. In this revamped exhibit, artifacts and images will bring to life a more complete picture of the Fair, one that shows what it was like from many different perspectives: the organizers, the visitors, the workers—both those who came to St. Louis voluntarily and those who were forced. It will re-examine the complexity of the Fair in ways that will make this story feel new again. Learn about the Fair as a construction site, as an arena, as a representation of empire, as an amusement park, and much more.
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