Patterns
Connections
The same patterns turn up again and again. 40 of the 41 sites in this app are dated between 1850 and 1920. Tap a pattern to see where it shows up, or see them all on the globe.
Built in record time19
Huge, ornate buildings dated to two years or less.
- London 1851 1851
- Vienna 1873 1873
- Philadelphia 1876 1876
- Paris 1878 1878
- Barcelona 1888 1888
- Paris 1889 1889
- Chicago 1893 1893
- Atlanta 1895 1895
- Nashville 1897 1897
- Omaha 1898 1898
- Paris 1900 1900
- Buffalo 1901 1901
- St. Louis 1904 1904
- Portland 1905 1905
- Seattle 1909 1909
- San Francisco 1915 1915
- Buffalo City Hall
- San Francisco City Hall
- St. Louis Union Station
Torn down18
Taken down soon after opening, often within a year.
- London 1851 1851
- Vienna 1873 1873
- Philadelphia 1876 1876
- Paris 1878 1878
- Barcelona 1888 1888
- Paris 1889 1889
- Chicago 1893 1893
- Atlanta 1895 1895
- Nashville 1897 1897
- Omaha 1898 1898
- Paris 1900 1900
- Buffalo 1901 1901
- St. Louis 1904 1904
- Portland 1905 1905
- Seattle 1909 1909
- San Francisco 1915 1915
- Danvers State Hospital
- Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
Lost to fire5
Fire follows these grounds: 1894 Chicago, 1906 San Francisco, 1936 Crystal Palace.
Still standing33
The ones that stayed, and what they have in common.
- Philadelphia 1876 1876
- Barcelona 1888 1888
- Paris 1889 1889
- Chicago 1893 1893
- Nashville 1897 1897
- Paris 1900 1900
- Buffalo 1901 1901
- St. Louis 1904 1904
- Seattle 1909 1909
- San Francisco 1915 1915
- Philadelphia City Hall
- Milwaukee City Hall
- Buffalo City Hall
- San Francisco City Hall
- Palace of Fine Arts
- The Parthenon
- Museum of Science and Industry
- Saint Louis Art Museum
- Memorial Hall
- Michigan Central Station
- Palais Garnier
- Hungarian Parliament Building
- Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
- Buffalo State Asylum (Richardson Olmsted Campus)
- St. Louis Union Station
- Grand Central Terminal
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
- Allegheny County Courthouse
- Palais de Justice
- Royal Courts of Justice
- Old City Hall
- Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)
- Northern Michigan Asylum
Rebuilt or recast9
Fair buildings later 'rebuilt' in stone or concrete to the same design.
Domes & towers30
Domes, spires and towers with metal tops.
- London 1851 1851
- Vienna 1873 1873
- Philadelphia 1876 1876
- Paris 1878 1878
- Barcelona 1888 1888
- Paris 1889 1889
- Chicago 1893 1893
- Paris 1900 1900
- Buffalo 1901 1901
- St. Louis 1904 1904
- Seattle 1909 1909
- San Francisco 1915 1915
- Philadelphia City Hall
- Milwaukee City Hall
- Buffalo City Hall
- San Francisco City Hall
- Palace of Fine Arts
- Museum of Science and Industry
- Saint Louis Art Museum
- Memorial Hall
- Palais Garnier
- Hungarian Parliament Building
- Buffalo State Asylum (Richardson Olmsted Campus)
- St. Louis Union Station
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
- Allegheny County Courthouse
- Palais de Justice
- Royal Courts of Justice
- Old City Hall
- Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)
Light & power7
Night photos of glowing fairs. Questions about what powered them.
City halls & capitols13
City halls and capitols too grand for their towns.
Asylums (Kirkbride)5
Hospital buildings the size of palaces, built to one plan.
Buried levels3
Raised streets, buried floors, tunnels: see Mud Flood.
Burned & rebuilt5
A fire (or quake and fire) cleared the site, and something grander went up soon after.