world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
held in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The most famous structure created for the Exposition, and still remaining, is the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
.
Organization
The Exposition was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
Storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At t ...
, which marked the beginning of
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, and was also seen as a way to stimulate the economy and pull France out of an economic recession. The Exposition attracted 61,722 official exhibitors, of whom twenty-five thousand were from outside of France.
Admission price
Admission to the Exposition cost forty centimes, at a time when the price of an "economy" plate of meat and vegetables in a Paris cafe was ten centimes. Visitors paid an additional price for several of the Exposition's most popular attractions. Climbing the Eiffel Tower cost five Francs; admission to the popular panoramas, theatres and concerts was one franc. Visitors from the French provinces could buy a ticket which included the train fare and entry into the Exposition. The total cost of Exposition was 41,500,000 francs, while income was 49,500,000 francs. It was the last of the Paris Universal Expositions to make a profit.
National participation and boycotts
The countries that officially participated in the Exposition were
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, Saint-Martin,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
, the
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. The British dominions of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
also took part.
Because of the theme of the Exposition, celebrating the overthrow of the French monarchy, nearly all European countries with monarchies officially boycotted the Exposition. The boycotting nations were
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
Nonetheless, many citizens and companies from those countries participated, and a number of countries had their participation entirely funded by private sponsors. They included Germany and Alsace-Lorraine, Austria-Hungary, Belgium,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, Spain, the United Kingdom and its colonies,
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
, Italy,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, the Netherlands,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, Portugal,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, Russia,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and Sweden.
Exposition sites
The Exposition occupied two large sites. The main site was on
Champs de Mars
The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public Urban open space, greenspace in Paris, France, located in the 7ème arrondissement, Paris, seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire ...
on the Left Bank, which had been the parade ground of the Ecole Militaire, and had been occupied by the 1878 Universal Exposition. This was the site of the major part of the Exposition, including the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
, Palace of Machines, and the Palaces of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts. The Exposition extended across the Seine to the right bank, to the Trocadero Palace, which had been built on the heights for the 1878 Exposition. The slope from the Trocadero Palace down to the Seine was filled with terrace, fountains, gardens and horticultural exhibits.
A separate, smaller site was located on the esplanade of
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
, which hosted the pavilions of the French colonies. This section featured a large assortment of outdoor restaurants and cafes with foods from Indochina, North Africa, and other cuisines from around the world. The colonial pavilions conveyed the multiculturalism of France's colonies, the largest of them being the Palais Central des Colonies, designed by
Stephen Sauvestre
Charles Léon Stephen Sauvestre (26 December 1847 – 18 June 1919) was a French architect. He is notable for being one of the architects contributing to the design of the world-famous Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Pa ...
, who notably contributed to the design of the Eiffel Tower. In addition to the architectural displays of France's colonies, the exposition showcased a construction of villages inhabited by natives of the colonies, to be observed by viewers.Palermo, L. E. 2003. “Identity under construction: Representing the colonies at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889.” Pg 291 in ''The color of liberty: Histories of race in France'' edited by Peabody, Sue and Tyler, Stovall. Duke University Press, Durham. The colonized people had their daily lives displayed for the exposition visitors, which made some of them uncomfortable. Samba Lawbé Thiam, a jeweler from Senegal who was part of the 1889 exposition, said the following:
"We are very humiliated to be exhibited this way, in huts like savages; these straw and mud huts do not give an idea of Senegal. In Senegal ... we have large buildings, railroad stations, railroads; we light them with electricity. The Bureau of Hygiene does not tolerate the construction of this type of hovel. Those xisting onesthat fall into disrepair are not replaced."
The incorporation of indigenous colonized individuals in the exposition was intended to be an educational element, but has also historically been framed as an exploitative and patronizing display of colonized people without their consent.
This colonial section of the exposition was linked to the Champs de Mars site by a corridor of pavilions along the left Bank. This corridor, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, also featured a display called "The History of Human Habitation", with model houses depicting the history of domestic architecture, designed with much imagination by Charles Garnier, architect of the
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
.
There were twenty-two different entrances to the Exposition, around its perimeter. They were open from 8 a.m. until 6:00 p,m. for the major exhibits and palaces, and until 11:00 in the evening for the illuminated greens and restaurants. The major ceremonial entrance was located at Les Invalides consisting of two tall pylons with colorful ornament, like giant candelabras.
Views of the Exposition
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537199 (3784839428).jpg, The main entrance of the Exposition
File:CLC 528 - PARIS - Galerie des Machines.JPG, Postcard of trams stopping at the
Galerie des Machines
The Galerie des machines (officially: Palais des machines) was a pavilion built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Located in the Grenelle district, the huge pavilion was made of iron, steel and glass.
A similarly-named structure wa ...
, at the edge of the Exposition
File:Tour Eiffel 3b40739.jpg, Exposition seen from a balloon (1889)
File:Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Paris Exposition, view from ground level of the Eiffel tower with Parisians promenading, 1889.jpg, View under the Eiffel Tower toward the Central Dome
File:La Tour Eiffel from North of the Trocadero, 1889 - Flickr 14382709664.jpg, View of Exposition from Trocadero
File:Street view, looking toward Palais des Invalides, showing pavilions on L'Esplanade des Invalides, Paris Exposition, 1889.jpg, Pavilions on the Esplanade des Invalides, with
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
in the background
File:Exposition Universal, 1889, Paris, France.jpg, View of the Central Dome
Structures
The Eiffel Tower
The
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
, built especially for the Exposition, was the tallest structure in the world at the time. A competition to build what was simply called "A tower of three hundred meters" with a base one hundred meters wide, was announced in 1886. It was won by the construction firm of
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
, which had recently built the iron frame of the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
. The Eiffel firm had advance knowledge of the project and, beginning in 1884, had already designed a tower exactly to those dimensions. The structural design was created by two Eiffel engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, who along with Eiffel himself, received the patent for the plan. An Eiffel architect, Stephen Sauvestre, designed the curving form and decoration which gave the tower its distinctive appearance. Eiffel was granted exclusive rights for twenty years to operate the tower and its restaurants and viewing platforms. A site next to the River was chosen, despite the infiltration of river water, since that land was owned by the City of Paris, and the tower could be kept in place after the Exposition was completed.
The construction lasted two years, two months and five days, and involved five hundred workers, who assembled eighteen thousand iron pieces, each of five meters and carefully numbered, which had been made at a factory in
Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...
, a Paris suburb. Speaking of the tower construction workers, the son-in-law of Eiffel, declared, "no soldier on the battle field deserved better mention than these humble toilers, who, will never go down in history." During the Exposition, no one other than construction personnel were allowed higher than the second viewing platform.
In the first week of the Exposition, 29,922 persons climbed the tower to the viewing platform, though the elevators were not yet in service, and they had to climb by a narrow winding stairway. By the time the Exposition finished, after 173 days, 1,968,287 persons had ascended the tower.
When the Exposition ended, the tower was used for a time as a weather station. In 1904, Eiffel proposed to the French military that a radio transmitter, designed by the pioneer radio engineer Edouard Branly, be placed on the third level. In 1909, when Eiffel's concession formally ended, it was decided to preserve the Tower permanently.
File:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG, The tower under construction a year before the opening (1888)
File:Les escaliers de la Tour Eiffel, au-dessus de la deuxième plate-forme, 1889.jpg, Stairway to the viewing level
File:Gustave Eiffel posant au sommet de la tour.jpg,
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
(left) posing on the stairway of his tower
File:Eiffel-Otis lift-poyet.jpg, The Otis elevators that carried visitors up the north and south legs of the tower
File:View of Exposition Universelle from Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1889.jpg, View of the Seine and the Exposition from the Eiffel Tower
File:Georges Garen embrasement tour Eiffel.jpg, Chromolithograph by George Garen of the Eiffel Tower illuminations (1889)
The Gallery of Machines
A second monumental building on the site was the
Galerie des machines
The Galerie des machines (officially: Palais des machines) was a pavilion built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Located in the Grenelle district, the huge pavilion was made of iron, steel and glass.
A similarly-named structure wa ...
, by the architect
Ferdinand Dutert
Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (21 October 1845 - 12 February 1906) was a French architect.
Life
Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert was born on 21 October 1845 in Douai, son of a merchant of that town.
He was admitted to the École nationale supé ...
and engineer
Victor Contamin
Victor Contamin (1840–1893) was a French structural engineer, an expert on the strength of materials such as iron and steel.
He is known for the Galerie des machines of the Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris.
He also pioneered the use of re ...
, which had originally been built for the Universal Exposition of 1878. It was a huge iron and glass structure which contained the industrial displays. It occupied the entire width of the Exposition site, the land between the avenue de la Bourdonnais and the present avenue de Suffren, and covered 77,000 square meters, with 34,700 square meters of glass windows. At 111 meters, the Gallery covered the longest interior space in the world at the time, It cost 7,430,000 Francs, or seven times the cost of the Eiffel Tower. It was later used again at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and then destroyed in 1910.
The Gallery of Machines used a system of hinged arches (like a series of bridge spans placed not end-to-end but parallel) made of steel or iron. Although often described as being constructed of steel, it was actually made of iron.
File:Interior of exhibition building, Exposition Universal, Paris, France.jpg, Interior of the Galerie des machines (1889)
File:Béroud - Le dôme central de la galerie des machines à l'exposition universelle de 1889 - P2314 - Musée Carnavalet (cropped).jpg, Interior of the central dome of the Galerie des machines, by
Louis Béroud
Louis Béroud (17 January 1852, Lyon – 9 October 1930, Paris) was a French painter of the late 19th, early 20th century. Some of his paintings are visible at the Musée Carnavalet and The Louvre in Paris. On 22 August 1911 Béroud came to The ...
(1889)
Science and technology
One important goal of the Exposition was to present the latest in science and technology.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
visited the Exposition to visit a pavilion devoted to his recent inventions, including an improved phonograph with clearer sound quality.
Another new technology that was promoted at the Exposition was the safety elevator, developed by a new American company,
Otis Elevator
Otis Worldwide Corporation ( branded as the Otis Elevator Company, its former legal name) is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and related equipment.
Based in Farmington, Connec ...
. Otis built the elevators carrying passengers up the legs of the Eiffel Tower to the first level. When journalists expressed concern about the safety of the elevators, Otis technicians filled one elevator with three thousand kilograms of lead, simulating passengers, and then, with journalists from around the world watching, cut the cable with an axe. The elevator's fall was halted ten feet above the ground by the Otis safety brakes.
There were pavilions especially devoted to the telephone and to electricity, and others devoted to maritime navigation, and another, the Palais de Guerre or Palace of War, to developments in military technology, such as naval artillery.
Prefabricated metal housing was another technology that appeared at the Exposition. Gustave Eiffel developed a series of houses with roof and walls of galvanised steel, and wooden interiors, which could be rapidly put together or taken apart, largely for use in French colony of Indochina. Some of them served as ticket booths at the 1889 Exposition; one of these old booths, now used as a shelter for hikers, can now be found in the Forest of Dampierre.
File:Le phonographe Edison, à la section des États-Unis.jpg, Edison
phonograph
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
demonstrated at the Exposition
File:La Tour Eiffel. Détails de la construction et du fonctionnement des ascenseurs Otis.jpg, Otis Elevators carrying passengers up the legs of the Eiffel Tower
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537183 (3784838148).jpg, Exhibit of naval artillery in the Palace of War
File:American Bell Telephone Co. and Western Electric Co., Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1889 LCCN00649968.tif, Exhibit of Bell Telephone and the Western Electric Company at the Exposition
File:Dampierre 78 Maison de Fer3.jpg, The "Iron House", a prefabricated galvanized steel house designed by Gustave Eiffel, used as a ticket booth in the Exposition, now a park shelter in Dampierre
The Palaces of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts
Other major buildings included the Palaces of Liberal and Fine Arts, each with a richly decorated dome, facing each other across a garden and reflecting pool between the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Machines. Both were designed by
Jean-Camille Formigé
Jean-Camille Formigé (1845-1926) was a French architect during the French Third Republic.Pierre-Henri Picq. This was an elaborate iron and glass structure decorated with ceramic tiles in a Byzantine-Egyptian-Romanesque style. After the Exposition the building was shipped to
Fort de France
Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean.
Histo ...
and reassembled there, the work being completed by 1893. Known as the Schœlcher Library, initially it contained the 10,000 books that
Victor Schœlcher
Victor Schœlcher (; 22 July 1804 – 25 December 1893) was a French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist, best known for his leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, during the Second Republic.
Early life
Schœlche ...
had donated to the island. Today, it houses over 250,000 books and an ethnographic museum, and stands as a tribute to the man it is named after who led the movement to abolish slavery in
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
.
File:Les charpentes des Palais des beaux-arts et des arts libéraux au Champ-de-Mars.jpg, The Palaces of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts under construction, both designed by
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. It provided a striking contrast to the very modern Palace of Machines, next to it. It was the idea of Baron Delort Gléon, an art collector and specialist in Egyptian art, with financial support from Charles De Lesseps, the head of the Egyptian committee for the Exposition, and son of Ferdinand De Lesseps, the builder of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
. It was a winding street, with buildings at odd angles, and featured, among other buildings, a minaret, two mosques, a school and two ornamental gateways. The doors, windows, and architectural fittings and decoration were real, imported from demolished buildings in Cairo. The street was populated by real Egyptians in costumes, including musicians, belly dancers, artists, craftsmen, and vendors of various Egyptian foods and delicacies.
The Exposition featured several other examples of picturesque habitations and villages from around the world, including a Javanese village and recreated houses of villages from Senegal, Benin, and other colonies, with costumed residents.
File:La rue du Caire. Avenue de Suffren - Champ-de-Mars.jpg, The "Cairo Street"
File:Village Javanais, Paris Exposition, 1889 (14197136787).jpg, Javanese Village
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 "Choza lapona" (3784013953).jpg, The Finnish Lapland village
File:Habitation d'Afrique Centrale.jpg, Central African habitation
File:Une fête de nuit à l'exposition coloniale de l'esplanade des Invalides - Le défilé du cortège.jpg, Parade of soldiers, musicians and performers from the French colonies
The Pavilions of the participating nations and special industries
The Pavilions of the participating nations were located along the edge of the Champ de Mars. The Latin American nations had particularly colorful and lavish structures.
The Pavilion of Argentina was one of the largest and most decorative pavilions in the Exposition. It was designed by the French architect
Albert Ballu
Albert Ballu (1 June 1849 - 3 November 1939) was a French architect. He designed many buildings in French Algeria, including the Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Oran.
Education and early career
Albert Ballu was the son of an architect, Théodore ...
, who won the 1887 design competition. It covered 1,600 square meters, and was fifty meters high, topped by five iron and glass cupolas and surrounded by a frieze of mosaics, ceramics and coloured glass ornaments. After the Exposition closed, it was taken apart and shipped to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, where it stood until it was dismantled in 1952.
In addition to the nations, there were pavilions of specialized industries, such as the Suez Canal company, the pavilion of the Transatlantic steamship company, the telephone and electricity pavilions, and the Pavilions of gas and oil. The Palace of Food Products was a very large and ornate structure, presenting French food and wine products. One of its highlights was an enormous sculpted wooden barrel from
Champagne Mercier
Mercier is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1858 by Eugène Mercier (who died in 1904), produces both vintage and non-vintage ''cuvée'', which is stored in long cellar tunnels located unde ...
that could hold 200,000 bottles of champagne.
File:Pabellon-argentino plazasmartin 1900.jpg, The Pavilion of Argentina, winner of the contest for best national pavilion
File:Pabellón chileno en la Exposición Universal de París de 1889-cropped.jpg, Pavilion of Chile
File:Pavilion of Brazil, Paris Exposition, 1889 LCCN92520980.jpg, Pavilion of Brazil
File:Paris Exposition train 1889.jpg, Pavilion of Algeria, with the Exposition train
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537046 (3784010239).jpg, Pavilion of Persia
File:Pavilion of India, Paris Exposition, 1889.jpg, Pavilion of India
File:Pavilion of Siam, Paris Exposition, 1889.jpg, Pavilion of Siam
File:Pavilion of Mexico. Paris World Exhibition 1889 (23261199303).jpg, Pavilion of Mexico based on
Mesoamerican architecture
Mesoamerican architecture is the set of architectural traditions produced by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, traditions which are best known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures. ...
and including reliefs of Aztec
tlatoani
''Tlatoani'' ( , "one who speaks, ruler"; plural ' or tlatoque) is the Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler of an , a pre-Hispanic state. It is the noun form of the verb "tlahtoa" meaning "speak, command, rule". As a result, it has been various ...
s by
Jesús Fructuoso Contreras
Jesús Fructuoso Contreras Chávez (January 20, 1866 – July 13, 1902) was a Mexican sculptor. He has been called the most "representative sculptor of late 19th century Mexico".
Biography
Jesús Fructuoso Contreras was born in Aguascaliente ...
File:Pavilion of Nicaragua and base of the Eiffel Tower, Paris Exposition, 1889.jpg, Pavilion of Nicaragua
File:¨Pavillon des îles Hawaï - Exposition universelle Paris 1889.jpg, Pavilion of the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
File:Pavilion of the Suez Canal Company, Paris Exposition, 1889.jpg, Pavilion of the Suez Canal Company, in Egyptian style
File:Le palais des produits alimentaires, Exposition universelle 1889.jpg, The Palace of Food Products
File:Epernay fass mercier side view.jpg, A gigantic oak barrel with a capacity of 200,000 bottles of champagne was a feature of the
Champagne Mercier
Mercier is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1858 by Eugène Mercier (who died in 1904), produces both vintage and non-vintage ''cuvée'', which is stored in long cellar tunnels located unde ...
exhibit at the food and wine pavilion.
Charles Garnier's ''History of Habitation''
An unusual display was the "History of Habitation", designed by Charles Garnier, the architect of the
Paris Opera House
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
named for him. He was then 61 and had designed very few other major projects since the Opera. Although he had also signed a petition, along with other prominent writers and artists, that denounced the Eiffel Tower as an atrocity, he agreed to design a series of houses to illustrate the history of human habitation. The houses, separated by gardens, were placed close to the Eiffel Tower on a narrow strip of land along Quai D'Orsay and the banks of the Seine.
The houses were arranged by century and by continent, beginning with Garnier's idea of prehistoric dwellings and huts, through the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and other early civilizations, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance to the modern then houses from Japan, and China and the homes of Eskimos, and dwellings from Africa, Japan, China and Lapland, and dwellings of Native Americans, Aztecs and Incas. The dwellings were designed by Garnier with more imagination than strict historical accuracy, but they were picturesque and very popular. The Roman House had a special function, as the residence of the President of France when he visited the Exposition.
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 "Casa egipcia" (3784820432).jpg, The Egyptian House of the History of Habitation, by Charles Garnier
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537073 (3784014313).jpg, The Aztec House and Incan House by Charles Garnier
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537049 (3784820368).jpg, The Roman House and the Gallo-Roman House, by Charles Garnier
Other buildings
Many smaller but picturesque buildings were included within or adjacent to the Exposition. The architect
Hector Guimard
Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building ...
, then just twenty-two years old, built his first two buildings for the Exposition; The cafe-restaurant Au Grand Neptune at 148 Quai Louis-Bleriot (Paris 16th arrondissement), and a small Pavillon of Electricity for an electrician named Ferdinand de Boyéres, located just outside the Exposition site at avenue de Suffren. The Pavilion of electricity was demolished immediately after the Exposition, and the cafe was torn down in 1910.
Music and entertainment
The Exposition itself included several large theatres for concerts and spectacles, including one for the dancers of Les Follies Parisiens. A separate theatre presented the music and dance of the French colonies in Indochina. Operas and concerts were also given in the grand hall of the Trocadero Palace.
* The
Opéra Comique
''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...
premiered on 14 May 1889 with a work specially composed for that event:
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...
's ''
Esclarmonde
''Esclarmonde'' () is an opéra (french: opéra romanesque) in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont. It was first performed at the Expos ...
'' (debuting American
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Sybil Sanderson
Sibyl Sanderson (December 7, 1864May 16, 1903) was a famous American operatic dramatic coloratura soprano during the Parisian Belle Époque.
Biography
She was born in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Sibyl's father Silas Sanderson ...
).
* The
Barnum and Bailey Circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...
performed during the Exposition in the Salle des Fetes of the Palais des Machines.
* At the Exposition, the French composer
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
music, performed by an ensemble from Java. This influenced some of his later compositions.
Outside the Exposition, other theatres and venues presented a range of spectacles including
Buffalo Bill Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
and his Wild West Show, with the sharpshooter
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
.
File:Revista de la Exposición Universal de París, 1889 537044 (3784819630).jpg, A Dervish dance in an Exposition cafe
File:Rosa Bonheur - Portrait de Col. William F. Cody.jpg,
Buffalo Bill Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
, painted in 1889 by
Rosa Bonheur
Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals ( animalière). She also made sculpture in a realist style. Her paintings include '' Ploughing in the Nivernais'', fi ...
Transportation – the miniature train
Transport around the Exposition was partly provided by the 3 kilometre (1.9 mi) gauge Decauville railway at Exposition Universelle. The Exposition railroad was reported to have carried 6,342,446 visitors in just six months of operation. Some of the locomotives used on this line later saw service on the
Chemins de fer du Calvados
The Chemins de Fer du Calvados was a narrow gauge railway in the département of Calvados.
History
The railway was originally planned as a line. The département had actually accepted a tender for the construction of such a line but with int ...
Celebrities and dignitaries from around the world visited the Exposition.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
, with his wife and daughter, visited the Exposition on August 14, 1889, his third day in France, to visit the exhibit where his improved
phonograph
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
was being demonstrated. He also ascended to the viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower, where he was met by a group of
Sioux
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
Indians who were at the Exposition to perform in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He returned to the Eiffel Tower later in his visit (Sept 10), where he was hosted for a lunch in Eiffel's private apartment on the Tower, along with the composer
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
.
* A " Negro village" (''village nègre'') where 400 people were displayed was a popular attraction.Nicolas Bancel, Pascal Blanchard and Sandrine Lemaire ''Ces zoos humains de la République coloniale''
Le Monde Diplomatique
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs.
The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
, August 2000: Pages 16, 17. Adapted from the book: Nicolas Bancel, Pascal Blanchard, Gilles Boëtsch, Eric Deroo et Sandrine Lemaire, Zoos humains. Au temps des exhibitions humaines, Paris, La Découverte-Poche, 2004.
Other prominent visitors included the Shah of Persia
Nasereddin Shah
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدینشاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...
, Prince of Wales (the future
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
Antoni Gaudi Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fem ...
,
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
,
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
,
Rosa Bonheur
Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals ( animalière). She also made sculpture in a realist style. Her paintings include '' Ploughing in the Nivernais'', fi ...
and
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
; U.S. journalist and diplomat
Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history.
After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-York Tribu ...
; author
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
; Filipino patriots
José Rizal
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...
and
Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (; ; August 30, 1850July 4, 1896), commonly known as Marcelo H. del Pilar and also known by his pen name Pláridel,.''Filipinos in History: Volume II'', National Historical Institute, 1990, p. 101 was a ...
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
.
A central attraction in the French section was the
Imperial Diamond
The Jacob Diamond, also known as the Imperial or Victoria Diamond, is a colorless diamond from South Africa (or from the Golconda diamonds, Golconda mines) ranked as the fifth-biggest polished diamond in the world. The last Nizam of Hyderabad, n ...
, at the time the largest diamond in the world.
The Mexican pavilion featured a model of an exotic (for Europeans)
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
temple, a "combination of archeology, history, architecture, and technology."
The presentation of
Joseph Farcot
Jean Joseph Léon Farcot (23 June 1824 – 19 March 1908) was a French engineer and industrialist whose factories employed up to 700 workers. He was also a prolific inventor.
He was one of the pioneers of the servomechanism, where a feedback loop ...
's steam engine, that had already won a prize in 1878.
Statistics
* Expenses: 41,500,000
Franc
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (Style of the French sovereign, King of the Franks) used on early France, ...
s
* Receipts: 49,500,000 Francs
* Visitors: 32,250,297
* Exhibitors: over 61,722, of whom 55% were French
* Countries represented: 35
Legacy
Most of the buildings were on military land or city-owned park land, and they were demolished shortly after the Exposition closed. The most notable survivor was the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
, which had been deliberately built on Paris city-owned land, to avoid demolition.
The Exhibition included a building by the Paris architect Pierre-Henri Picq. This was an elaborate iron and glass structure decorated with ceramic tiles in a Byzantine-Egyptian-Romanesque style. After the Exposition the building was shipped to
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the ...
in
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
and reassembled there, the work being completed by 1893. Known as the Schœlcher Library, initially it contained the 10,000 books that
Victor Schœlcher
Victor Schœlcher (; 22 July 1804 – 25 December 1893) was a French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist, best known for his leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, during the Second Republic.
Early life
Schœlche ...
had donated to the island. Today, it houses over 250,000 books and an ethnographic museum, and stands as a tribute to the man it is named after who led the movement to abolish slavery in
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
.
See also
*
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.
Construction
The buildings and the fairgroun ...
Colonial exhibition
A colonial exhibition was a type of international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various colonial empires ...
*
Human zoo
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...
Bibliography
* Ageorges, Sylvain (2006), ''Sur les traces des Expositions Universelles'' (in French), Parigramme.
* Jonnes, Jill, ''Eiffel's Tower'' (2013), Penguin Putnam
* Musée D'Orsay, ''1889 - La Tour Eiffel et l'Exposition Universelle'' (1989) (in French), Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris (Catalog of a centennial exhibition on the Expositon in 1989)
* ''Engineering'' ournal3 May 1889 (vol XLVII), London: Office for Advertisements and Publication, 1866- (ISSN 0013-7782)
* ''Structural iron and steel,'' 1850–1900, edited by Robert Thorne; Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain; Burlington, Vt., USA: Ashgate/Variorum, c2000 ()