History: The History Of St. Louis

Every city has a history to it. Some are very old; some are very new. Some are interesting; some are not so interesting. The city of St. Louis has an old and interesting past. Many events were held in St. Louis that many people don’t realize. Two of the biggest events in the world have been held in St. Louis, Missouri. Also, these events were held in the same year. The first event was the 1904 World’s Fair, but that same year, visitors could attend the Summer Olympic Games as well. What is a World’s Fair?

A World’s Fair is an international exhibition of the scientific, industrial, technological, and artistic achievements of the participating nations. It lasts mostly all year. The World’s Fair in St. Louis started on April 30, 1904. People from all over the country and the world were visiting the beautiful city. At that time, St. Louis was still fairly new. The city was chosen to host the 1904 World’s Fair that year because it was America’s chance to showcase its new territory, The Louisiana Purchase, which was bought from France on April 30, 1803.

The fair took place in Forest Park and covered 1275 acres of land. The craziest section was the Pike. It was where all the noise and chaos occurred. There was even a tortoise you could ride on! The pike was a mile-long arcade considered to be the carnival section where people could see popular culture and entertainment. It held 50 different sites such as contortionists, babies in incubators, reenactments of the Boer War (also known as the Anglo-Boer Wars which

Trn 2 were two wars against the British and two South African Republics that occurred in the late 1800’s) Jim Key the Educated Horse, The Dancing Girls of Madrid, and the Hagenbeck’s Zoological Paradise and Animal Circus that a...

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... seen at the fair. Many of those things are foods that we eat and enjoy now. Countless numbers of people from different countries and cultures came to see the Universal Exhibition. Today, we

Trn 5 don’t always see an interest in our own city’s history and development. It is important to understand how your own city came about. The World’s Fair was one example. Many people don’t know that St. Louis held the two biggest events in the world. One was the World’s Fair, and the other was the Olympics. More importantly, it was all in the same year, 1904. The Fair held in St. Louis was a great introduction to the United States becoming one of the greatest and biggest countries in the world. Today, it is even a world power. The city of St. Louis is an important and beautiful city with a great past. “The Gateway to The West” is definitely one of America’s greatest cities.