World’s FairsFound, not built?
Barcelona 1888Investigate

Investigate · Barcelona 1888

Barcelona arc de triomf lamp

Barcelona arc de triomf lamp
1 clue in this photo

1Repeated motif · whole photo

Ornate lamps under the brick arch

An ornate multi-arm street lamp stands on the promenade under palms, with the brick Arc de Triomf behind.

The questionThe same ornate lamp standards line Pont Alexandre III in Paris. Is this a shared pattern book, or a shared older style?

Photo: Isiwal · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Barcelona 1888Case file

Same kind of clue, elsewhere

Repeated motif · Philadelphia 1876Medallions and arcades repeated down the naveWere these ornaments cast for 1876, or are they a standard pattern found in other halls of the era?Repeated motif · Paris 1889The Trocadéro already standing through the archHow many of these 'temporary' fair palaces were left standing for the next fair, and what was there before 1878?Repeated motif · Chicago 1893Erechtheion-style caryatid porchesWhy does the same classical vocabulary turn up fair after fair, city after city?Repeated motif · Nashville 1897Greece and Egypt on one groundWhy do Greek and Egyptian forms keep turning up together at these fairs?Repeated motif · Buffalo 1901A skyline of ornate towersWere towers like these power infrastructure first and decoration second?Repeated motif · Paris 1878The Trocadéro core reusedWhat is inside the Palais de Chaillot today?

All clues others missed →