Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Exposition palace · St. Louis, United States
Saint Louis Art Museum
- Dated
- 1904
- Declared purpose
- Palace of Fine Arts for the 1904 fair
- Today
- Survives
- Architect of record
- Cass Gilbert, architect: about 43 when credited (1902, born 1859). Build time on record: about 2 years (1902–04).All architects of record →
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
The 1904 Palace of Fine Arts, built to be permanent, stands on Art Hill above the Grand Basin.
Permanent by plan
Officially the only planned-permanent palace. It's on high ground, while the lagoons below were dug in 1903.
The basin below
Photos from 1903 show the Grand Basin being dug out in front of it.
Questions worth asking
- Was it built for the fair, or was the fair laid out around it?
Possible original uses
- Gallery (its use today)
- Hilltop civic temple
What the photos show
Surrounding Buildings
Old buildings nearby in St. Louis. Compare the stone, the domes and the dates.
Lost Buildings
Neighbours that were torn down or burned. Tap one for its photos.
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
