The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair THE PIKE:  Other Concessions

1904 W.F. Society

On these Pike Pages, the 50+ Pike attractions and
concessions are divided into several groups.

The approximate opening date for each attraction is in Green.
Information about similar concessions at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair are in Blue

1. United States Attractions

2. Foreign Cultures

3. Rides

4. Other Notable Concessions (this page)

 

  

Gondolas on "The Grand Basin"

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Other Concessions

Miniature Railway (Open on May 3)
-- 10¢

• Eight miles of railroad, on the Fairground's main thoroughfares
• Three different 'lines':

1. One ran the length of the Pike (on Administration Ave, the Pike's south side)
2. One went from Pike to Boer War and Philippine Reservation (along University Boulevard, today's Skinker Av.)
3. Third went to Anthropological exhibits (along Wydown Blvd.)

Intramural Railway (Opened May 10)
-- 10¢

• Route was about 7 miles of dual-tracks, with 17 stations, that encircled the Fairgrounds
• Advertising was sold inside the cars

Launches and Gondolas on the Grand Basin (Open on May 3)
-- 10¢ adults (saw 15¢, 25¢, & 50¢ tickets)

• Electric launches with singers and artists, Venetian gondolas with singing gondoliers, swan boats, fancy boats
• Other watercraft include Chinese houseboat, Indian balso, South Sea outriggers, Hawaiian surfboats, Indian canoes and dugouts, Australian catamaran
• 30 gondolas, 30 electric launches, swan boats, dragon boats

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The Flight Cage, or Bird Cage

Bird Cage

• Housed the Smithsonian's U. S. bird exhibit
• Steel truss framework, 228' by 84' by 50' tall
• Partitioned into two sections, vertically/lengthwise, large birds on one side, smaller birds on the other
• Patrons could walk through a mesh wire 'tunnel' in the middle of the cage, and look into either section
• Purchased by St. Louis city in 1905; led to establishment of the St. Louis Zoo

DeForest Wireless Telegraph Tower (also called Buffalo Tower)

• Sent press releases to St. Louis, Springfield, Kansas City, and Chicago
• Electric elevator took patrons to the top; restaurant at the bottom
• 300' high, highest structure on the Fairgrounds
• The tower portion of the structure was relocated from near Niagara Falls, because falling ice from the girders was a frequent hazard.  This possibly provided it's nickname as the Buffalo Tower (the city near Niagara Falls)
• Guglielmo Marconi (the inventor of the telegraph) visited the Fairgrounds in late 1903 as a possible exhibitor, but declined to be an exhibitor when DeForest's company was awarded 'first rights' of wireless technology displays

Roller Chairs with Guides
-- 60¢/hour ($1.25/hour with guide)

• Clarkson Concession Company
• Guide alone for 35¢/hour, baby carriage for 25¢/hour

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Lincoln Museum (Open on May 3)
-- 15¢ (children 10¢, 25¢ for 'series A')

• Next to Illinois building
• Lincoln funeral car restored in one wing
• Other wing featured Lincoln's log cabin in Hardin County KY, where he lived as a child

Grant's Cabin (Hardscrabble) (Open on May 3)
-- 10¢ adult admission

• Built by U.S. Grant in 1854, when he resigned from the Army (before the Civil War)
• Sponsored by C. F. Blanke, the cabin was moved to the Fairgrounds to sell Blankes coffee
• After the Fair, was purchased by Adolphus Busch and moved to Grant's Farm in St. Louis, where it still can be seen

Great Anthracite Coal Mine (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission, also saw 10¢ ticket (child's?)

• Near Palace of Mines & Metallurgy, in the 'Mining Gulch'
• Some early (pre-Fair) maps show this concession (was to be) located on The Pike
• Simulated a real Coal Mine, found and actually mined small vein of coal
• Actually underground, had a small restaurant

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