FairsBuffalo 1901

Pan-American Exposition: Pan-American Exposition - Temple of Music

Pan-American Exposition: Pan-American Exposition - Temple of Music Illuminated

Pan-American Exposition: Horticultural, Mining, and Graphic Arts Building 1901 Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo Postcard (cropped)

Pan-American Exposition: Pan-American Exposition - Fountain of Abundance and Music Temple

Photo: Underhill, New York City · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons

1901 · Buffalo, United States

Pan-American Exposition

On the globe

See full fair gallery (13)

Dates: 1 May – 2 Nov 1901
Site: Next to Delaware Park
Declared purpose: A fair about the Americas and the electric power coming from Niagara Falls.
Fate: Everything came down except the New York State Building, now the Buffalo History Museum. President McKinley was shot at the Temple of Music.
Architect of record: John M. Carrère, chairman, board of architects: about 41 when credited (1899, born 1858). Build time on record: about 2 years (1899–1901).; John Galen Howard, architect: about 35 when credited (1899, born 1864). Build time on record: about 2 years (1899–1901).All architects of record →

Hidden history

Found, Not Built

Buffalo's fair was a 'Rainbow City' run on power from Niagara, with a nearly 400-foot Electric Tower at its center. Only the marble building survived.

The Electric Tower
Its declared purpose was to show off electric light. Researchers ask whether towers like this were power infrastructure first and decoration second.
One survivor, in stone
The New York State Building was planned to be permanent, and it is. The question: does the 'permanent vs. temporary' line track what was built, or what was kept?