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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
1. United
States Attractions (this page)
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Mysterious Asia |
3. Rides
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Under and Over the Sea |
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Miniature Railway |
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Launches and Gondolas |
"Boynton's Naval
Hunting in the Ozarks (Open on May 3)
-- Free concession, but customers bought 7 shots for 25¢
- Reproduction of Frisco Railway, real train traveling through wilderness
- Shooting gallery (target practice) at moving 'game' in 'real woods'
Hagenbeck's Zoological
and Trained Animal Circus (Opened by May
20)
-- 10¢ adult admission (arena 50¢/25¢, monkey, elephant, reptile,
hybrid, bear shows or rides 10¢, 'track' riding 10¢, $1.00 for other shows)
- One of best patronized exhibits at the fair
- Baby elephant was born on
way to
- Open air panoramas of wild and domesticated animals from around the world
- Uncaged animals was forerunner of modern zoos
- 3,000 seat theater with caged arena of trained, wild animals gave continuous performances
- Shows included bears, monkeys, seals, elephants, snakes, lions and tigers
- Elephants slid down a chute (slide) into a pool, and were sometimes hard to get out
- Giant tortoises (carried children), reptiles, talking birds
- Hybrid animals: lion-tiger, zebra-horse, shetland pony-mule
- Rides on elephants, camels, llamas, ostriches, and zebras
- Hagenbeck's
Zoological Arena Company was also at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
Old
-- 25¢ adult admission (theater, arena 25¢/15¢,
- Reproduction of
- Forts, stockades, government house, churches, court house, schools
- Dwellings occupied by
the August,
- Church is museum,
with documents from the
- Band of 20 performers to enliven the attraction
- Replicas of New Orleans Cabildo and Cahokia Court House (which was a separate exhibit near the Plateau of States)
- Arena shows included expert displays of horsemanship, trick riding, high wire acts, slack wire walker, high wire bicycle, high dive, other feats of skill
- A stage in the Government
House showed 'negotiations' for the Louisiana Purchase, with Livingston,
- Edelweiss Restaurant, 2-story
(Cummins') Wild West
Indian Congress and Rough Riders of
the World
-- 25¢ adult admission (box seat 50¢)
- Frederick T. Cummins' Wild West Show
- Famous Indian Chiefs: Chief Joseph, Chief Redcloud, American Horse, Seven Rabbits
- 51 tribes represented, 800 actors played cowboys and Indians
- Sham battles, running the gauntlet, life on the plains (attacks on a settler's cabin)
- Riding demonstrations, target and trick shooting, lasso tricks
- Some free events, such as daily Indian lacrosse games
- Special events included bullfight and chariot race
- On September 15,
- Note: The entrance was on
the Pike, but the arena was North of the main Pike, outside of the 'main
boundary' of the Fair. This exhibit may have been a 'late' addition to the
Pike.
- Note:
-- 15¢ adult admission (children 10¢)
- Showed life under the sea, latest inventions for underwater exploration (searchlight, telephone, etc.)
- Glass front tank holds 40,000 gallons, divers descend in armor
- Equipment of U. S. Submarine Diving Company
- Show how to raise ships, recover property, rescue bodies
- Creation, Siberian
Railway, and
- U.S. Submarine
Diving Company was at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
Esquimau (Esquimaux)
Village (
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢, 50¢ total for other
attractions)
- Polar landscapes of igloos, reindeer, snow, and glaciers
- Demonstration of Alaskan gold mine
- 'Fight' between Esquimaux and wild dogs, kayaks on real lake with reindeer skin huts
- Displays of native sports, wedding ceremony, burial rites
- Nancy Columbia, born
at 1893
- Her mother interpreted for Admiral Peary
- Lapland Village was
perhaps a similar show at 1893 Chicago World's Fair
"Cliff
Dwellers" at the 1904 World's Fair
Cliff Dwellers (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢, arena 15¢, theater 25¢, 75¢ total for
other attractions)
- "Stone age" caves reproduced in cliff face, 100' tall, 250 feet wide
- As seen in
- Narrow trail can be climbed or ride on burros
- Five-acre Pueblo of Taos with theater and Indians (on first-time display at a Fair)
- 12 buildings, 300 natives, including Moki (Hopi) and Zuni
- Performances of Snake Dance and Dance of Kachinas (wearing masks)
- Craftsmen sold wares and souvenirs
- Similar show at 1893
Chicago World's Fair
Boynton's Naval Exhibit (Opened by May 10)
-- 25¢ adult admission (reserved seats 25¢ extra, saw 50¢ & 15¢
tickets)
- "The most realistic and thrilling production of Naval Battles ever given."
- Basin of water 300' x 180' (size of football field), about 3' deep
- Recreated famous
naval battles: Battle of Santiago Bay (or
- Battle of Santiago (from 1898 Spanish-American War) showed famous attempt of Spanish to "run the blockade"
- Program was changed weekly
- Large scale ships, in water, with operators inside, powered by electric motors
- 21 boats: 8 battleships, 6 cruisers, 6 torpedo boats, 1 submarine, 12' to 21' long,
- Every show, 100 working guns on the boats fired 20,000 shells
Hale's Fire Fighters (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢, saw 50¢ ticket)
- Operated by and named for George C. Hale, former Kansas City Fire Chief
- 5,000 seat auditorium, 50 minute show, 4 times daily
- Firemen alerted, respond, and put out 6-story fire
- No real fire; illusion w/ electricity, steam, glass, celluloid, silk
- Building on fire collapsed after the rescue
- Exhibition of historical and modern fire fighting equipment
- 2,000 seat restaurant
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢, also saw tickets for 50¢)
- Recreates great disaster of September 8, 1900
- Tidal wave nearly
wiped out
- Worst catastrophe ever for an American city
- Used plastic art, mechanics, electricity, to show the city in miniature
- Used water, and wind to recreate the storm's destruction (omits gruesome deaths)
- Then the beauty of a new
- Similar show at Luna
Park at Coney Island
Battle Abbey (Opened by June 1)
-- 25¢ adult admission (15¢ children)
- Building designed like medieval castle (400' x 250'), towers, bastions, parapet, drawbridge
- Attendants in military uniforms, including Union & Confederate
- Six plastic cycloramas (reproductions) of famous battles:
- Yorktown
(Revolutionary War, 1781),
Old
-- 15¢ adult admission (children 10¢)
- Showed the antebellum South, Dixieland
- Showed charming Southern home and the 'olden life of American Negro'
- 'African theater' for dancers and singers
Jim Key the Educated
Horse (Opened by May 7)
-- 15¢ adult admission (children 10¢)
- 13-year old Arabian Hambletonian
- Could read, write, spell, do arithmetic, sort mail, tell time, make change for shoppers, Bible knowledge
- Only equine honorary member of the American Humane Society
- Only equine millionaire, travels in special 'car'
- Concession of American Pop Corn Co.
Baby Incubators (Infant
Incubators)
-- 25¢ adult admission (15¢ children)
- Efforts of science to help humanity's struggle for life
- One of the few fire-proof buildings on the Pike
- Typically 20-30 infants, occupying 24 Incubators, 4 beds and a nursery
- Also had a store with baby goods
- Employed 3 doctors, ~10 nurses, used sanitary and scientific treatments to reduce chance of illness
- Had a 'problem' with sanitary conditions (many infants died) -- 'cleaned up' the facility, put in glass walls for separation of visitors, more attendants -- improved
- Directed by Dr. Joseph Hardy
Palais du Costume (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢)
- Same exhibit that was at
- Exhibit and costumes valued at several $100,000
- Claimed to be most expensive exhibit
- 33 scenes of fashion throughout the centuries, dating back to 1st century
- From Roman costumes to the present, life-sized figures in proper costumes and settings
- Included coiffure and hairstyle section
- Complete with period furniture and architecture
- Tableaux #28 was "Eve of Coronation", 1804
- Napoleon watching Josephine prepare, velvet and ermine robe
- Final tableaux (#33) has costumes of the present presented on live actors
- Gowns of all Nations and latest Parisian fashions, from designers Redfern, Worth, Paquin, Doucet, Felix
- Barr's Dry Goods furnished the costumes
- Only woman-controlled concession
- Sciences of astronomy, astrology, and thought transmission
Glass Weaving (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission (children 15¢)
- Deknatel Glass Blowers weave glass into thread
- Used to produce tablecloths, napkins, neckties, gowns
- Sometimes combined with silk
Moving Pictures
-- 10¢ adult admission (or free(?), profits from the machines)
- Byaphone pictures (nickelodeons, coin arcades) showed dances and songs
Spectatorium
-- Free admission
- Mills Edisonia, had coin machines for movies (travel, etc.), commodities such as candy, gum, peanuts, cigars, stamps, and weight, strength, grip
- Building also used by the Fair's Official Photographer
Statisticum (Opened by May 10)
-- 10¢ adult admission
- Collections of facts, figures, and moving models
- Presented information in a way to comprehend:
- Example: Pictures flash by of 2 babies every second ... to watch 1 million at 10 hours a day, would take 2 weeks
Poultry Farm (Open on May 3)
-- 25¢ adult admission (saw 15¢ ticket, childs?)
- Domestic fowl of every type were on display to promote breeding, mating methods, and methods of incubating
- Incubator cellar, shows hatching chicks and ducklings--raised, fattened, and then killed, dressed, and served in the restaurant
- Just North of Boer War