The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair A Visit to "The Pike"

1904 W.F. Society

At the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, fair president David R. Francis and the Fair's organizers wanted to ensure that popular "attractions" would add drawing power to the Fair, but not undermine the Fair's overall educational purpose.

They constructed the largest and most expensive amusement domain ever for an Exposition--"The Pike". Nearly a mile long, it was paved with brick and illuminated with arc lights at night. Over 50 Pike attractions and shows stayed open until 11:00 PM, well after the fair’s major exhibit palaces closed at 6:00.

The names of The Pike attractions at the Fair are in Bold/Blue.

Entering the main avenue of The Pike, you saw....

".. a broad paved highway, .. lined from beginning to end with bizarre-looking edifices, lined likewise with a dense crowd…under the myriad electric lights.

"The Pike" at the 1904 World's Fair, looking East

You see and hear "a babble of strange tongues, the sound of unfamiliar instruments, the noise of many bands, the roar of animals from many climes, the voice of "barkers" descanting upon ('hawking') the various entertainments…, the tramp of countless feet, and the indescribable din that only thousands hastily thrown together from all parts of the globe could make."
(Marshall Everett, The Book of the Fair)

"The din of cowbells, whistles, megaphones, the infernal yelling of the barkers mingled with the boom of cannon......rendered a pandemonium that I don't expect to hear again this side of Hades.
(Sam Hyde, Thanksgiving night on the Pike, from Martha Clevinger's Indescribably Grand)

The 'mountains' of the Tyrolean Alps towered over the eastern end of the Pike. This recreation of an Alpine village offered a ride through scenic mountain valleys to the birthplace of Mozart, and an elevator to the top of the Alps. In the village, restaurants sold German food specialties, cultural concerts were performed, and German peasants sold their wares and Fair souvenirs.

"A man came up to me after a show, and said, "I had just come back from the Tyrolean Alps (in Germany). Two days later I went to the Fair. I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't believe that I wasn't, by some miracle, again seeing the real thing"
(from Dorothy Daniels Birk, The World Came to St. Louis)

The Tyrolean Alps at the 1904 World's Fair

The nearby Irish Village had reconstructions of Blarney and Carmac’s castles, the Old Irish House of Parliament, plays and Irish dances in a theater, exhibits of Irish linen, cloths, laces, and carpets, and, of course, a café offering Irish specialties.

Lillian Schumacher, an 18 year old farm girl from Wichita Kansas, came to St. Louis for two weeks to see the fair and visit relatives. Her visit stretched into nearly two months as she stayed to attend an aunt's wedding and found employment at the fair. Working at several Pike attractions, primarily as a booster or shill--a person who acts as a decoy to lure people into the shows--she recorded many of her experiences.

"We took in Over and Under the Sea and it was fine. First was a ride on a ship that felt as (if) it was really moving over the sea. We passed Paris, London, and all of the well known places, and the scenery was beautiful. Second, we would go in ... a ship that pretended to be under water. All alongside the ship was water, fishes, and other monsters, and also vessels that had been wrecked. From there we took a boat ride back to The Pike.
(Lillian Schumacher)

Other realistic "voyages" included New York to the North Pole on a full-sized ship complete with cold air, and the Magic Whirlpool.

Pikers could "travel" to many countries and continents around the world. They could see Spanish Dancers and marketplace in the Streets of Seville, travel to Paris and the French Village at their gayest, visit Ancient Rome to see gladiators, or travel to the bazaars and mosques of Constantinople.

The Streets of Cairo had 26 buildings, camels, donkeys, monkeys, and snake charmers. and the Boer War recreated the climactic battles of the 1899-1902 war.

Mysterious Asia exhibited India’s Taj Mahal, the streets of Ceylon and Delhi, and the exotic Hootchie Kootchie dance. The Chinese Village featured with magicians and a tea house, and Fair Japan displayed the Imperial Gardens of Mikado and geisha girls. Jerusalem included a recreation of the Holy City, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Wailing Wall, and many cycloramas of the Holy City.

America's military history was also represented. Boynton’s Naval Exhibit recreated famous naval battles in a water basin the size of a football field, with over 20 manned ships up to 21 feet long that fired actual ‘shells’ at each other. A story was reported that one of the boats caught on fire from the gunpowder, and nearly sank killed the boat's pilot. The Battle Abbey was a ‘medieval castle’ with displays of historical weaponry and large cycloramas of famous American battles.

Remote American territories could be seen: the Esquimau Village had dog sleds and glaciers, and the Cliff Dwellers showed Southwest American Indians performing native rituals. The 47-acre Philippine Exhibit was a fair unto itself, displaying America’s newest overseas possession, acquired in the 1898 Spanish-American War. Of the several tribes of native Filipinos, most attention and notoriety was received by the Igorottes, whose diet included dogs supplied by the local St. Louis population.

Pike visitors would hear…

".. the cry of the "barker". The genial "Spieler" is abroad in the land, and he numbers legion. Listen to his convincing logic, his masterful argument, glowing eloquence, and seductive, alluring invitation to witness the best show on the grounds….Somehow we have fallen under the influence, and find ourselves drifting….to the sphere of his influence. … It is worth the price of admission to hear this Pike orator."
(Marshall Everett, The Book of the Fair)

The latest technology and tragedy of the day were also displayed. Hale’s Fire Fighters fought a 6-story ‘blaze’ several times a day. The Spectatorium displayed many of the inventions of Thomas Edison, with coin-operated machines selling commodities and coin arcades with songs, dances, weight, and strength. The Infant Incubators showcased the expanding ability of science to protect the lives of tiny babies in a sanitary and scientific manner. The great disaster of the Galveston Flood was recreated, memorializing the deaths of 6,000 city residents from a hurricane's waves and storm surge in September 1900--the worst catastrophe ever for an American city.

One of the most popular attractions was Hagenbeck’s Zoo, Circus, and Animal Paradise. It featured open air panoramas of wild animals from around the world, rides on tortoises, elephants, camels, ostriches, and zebras, and elephants that even went down a slide into a pool! A 3,000 seat theater featured performances by trained, wild animals.

"When the four lions are comfortably seated, the pretty (woman trainer) begins to pirouette around the circle, and as each lion is approached, the light foot of the dancer is thrown into the air so dangerously near its jaws that the spectators visibly shudder. Again the dainty foot is thrown into the air and withdrawn so instantaneously as barely to save it from mangling by the powerful jaws which launch out savagely…. This time the lion suddenly reaches out his head and snaps his jaws not two inches from the foot.
(John Brisben Walker, Cosmopolitan magazine, September 1904)

The smartest horse in America, Jim Key, was on the Pike. He demonstrated an equine ability to read, write, spell, and answer math and Bible questions.

Frederick T. Cummins' Wild West Show brought famous Indian Chiefs, Indians from 51 tribes, and cavalry and mounted 'armies' from around the world. The Congress of "Rough Riders" performed staged exhibitions of frontier battles.

The Water Chutes (Shoot the Chutes) gave Pikers a ride in a large boat down a ramp into a pool, making a gigantic splash and soaking everyone. In the Temple of Mirth, visitors went through a glass and mirrored labyrinth and other "Fun House" scenes.

Ambitious Pikers could ride the Scenic Railway, an early roller coaster nearly 3 miles long.

"I never realized what a feeling it sent over a person. Anyhow, ... the man hollered, "hold onto your hats and tight to your purses." …Someone would hollar, "just wait till the hills come and then you'll have a chance to holler." The first hill was not so bad, but the rest -- why, I couldn't sit still and not give my breath up. I tell you it was a hard problem to solve."
(Lillian Schumacher)

There were trips to the spiritual world. The Hereafter took visitors on a descent into Hades, complete with 'fire', tortured inhabitants, and Satan himself. Then the fairgoer was taken through solid rock to scenes of Heaven.

Roltair’s Creation illustrated the earthly works of God, from the Grand Canyon to Alaska. Then the traveler passed through ancient Egypt, Rome, and China, and the 6 days of the Creation of the World.

"Creation" at the 1904 World's Fair

The Golden Chariot was one of the most beautiful and gorgeously decorated undulating merry-go-rounds ever conceived, and Circle Swing was much like today's carnival rides:

"My! What a feeling passed over me…. We went in it, and talk about flying! Well, I never in all my life was on such a high pedestal as I was then. But we got out safe and sound."
(Lillian Schumacher, about the Circle Swing)

And, of course, you could take a ride on the enormous Ferris Wheel, from which you could see the entire fairgrounds and a good part of St. Louis. Rides cost 50 cents for two revolutions (of about 15-20 minutes each). The Ferris Wheel's axle was 32 inches in diameter, 45 feet long, 70 tons, and the largest single piece of forged steel at the time in the world. No one knows for sure if the axle was taken away after the wheel was destroyed for scrap, or buried on the Fairgrounds. Efforts to locate the buried axle or to find definitive proof of its removal have been unsuccessful to date. The Ferris Wheel hosted marriages, dinner parties, or games. The great 264' Ferris Wheel was first used at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair. It had 36 wooden cars (constructed from modified railroad cars), each holding 60 people, for a total capacity 2160 people. A guide was in each car, which could be rented for special events. Marriages and dinners took place on the Wheel.

·  The Ferris Wheel was brought to St. Louis from Chicago for the 1904 Fair, where it opened in late May (a month after the Fair opened on April 30). After the St. Louis World's Fair, the Ferris wheel was sold for scrap when a sale to Coney Island failed to materialize. It was destroyed with 100 pounds of dynamite (after several attempts), and the parts taken away for salvage. Local legend says the Ferris Wheel's axle was buried with the rest of the fair's rubble in makeshift landfills at Forest Park.

The Pike at St. Louis' 1904 World's Fair was the most extravagant entertainment area ever constructed at that time. It provided both entertainment and education for millions of Fair visitors, and exposed them to cultures and food from around the world. There are no lasting legacies of the Pike other than pictures and souvenirs--but the stories and memories about the Pike have endured to this day.