Temple of Music at the 1901 World's Fair in Buffalo

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Temple of Music

In the annals of World's Fairs, the 1901 Buffalo fair is listed, as a matter of record. However, it is one of the lesser-remembered fairs. This is not due to a lack of planning or physical appeal, but rather to the fact that on September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot and killed at the Temple of Music. This was the kind of event that is so infamous and carries such bad press that it condemns everything it touches, from the setting, the surrounding events, and the people involved, to the same black blanket of notoriety. Due to the President's assassination, the popularity of the Fair spiraled downward. Despite the deploring of the Fair, however, it was home to some remarkable buildings.

The displayed colored rendering of the Temple of Music is from the pages of Pan American Exposition: Buffalo 1901, a guidebook to the Buffalo Fair. With bright colors, the picture accurately captures the image of the Temple and its surrounding buildings. The Temple, designed by August C. Esenwein, could hold 2,200 people. On the main stage, a gigantic pipe organ was installed for concerts. On the outside the Temple was painted in a mixture of colors, mostly pastels, ranging from blue-green to scarlet. Along with the main "Pan-American" architectural mode of the Fair, it was built in the Spanish Revival style, and sported a central, brightly colored, octagonal dome that rested on a square base. Facades had intricate moldings that covered the outside of the Temple, from angels playing instruments to the large "MVSIC" sign in Roman characters over the main entrance. The Temple of Music fulfilled several practical and symbolic functions. It acted as a general reception hall and place to commemorate special occasions....

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...nt the most advanced aspect of the Fair, was the lightest of all, painted near white. This method of "metaphorical planning" inspired several later cities to utilize similar techniques in their fairs, such the "Mediterranean" architecture scheme of the 1915 San Diego Exposition and the utilitarian coloring of the 1933 Chicago Fair.

Bibliography

Findling, John E. Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions 1851-1988. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.

Arnold, C.D. The Pan-American Exposition. Buffalo, New York: 1901.

Eck, Susan. "The Color Scheme by C. Y. Turner, Director of Color." Pan American Exposition: Buffalo 1901. (http://panam1901.bfn.org/documents/turnerarticle.html).

Eck, Susan. "The Sculpture Plan by Karl Bitter, Director of Sculpture." Pan American Exposition: Buffalo 1901. (http://panam1901.bfn.org/documents/sculptureplan.html).

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