The  Palace of Manufactures and her sister structure- the Palace of Varied Industries were two of the most striking and ornate buildings at the  Fair.  Conceived by  Carrere and Hastings of New York, the 1200  x 525 foot building    cost 723,510 dollars.  Its northern and southern facades are ornamented by a succession of Corinthian arches, with a massive arched niche at the center of each side.  Huge Greek Sphinxes on block pedestals guarded  every entrance.  The palace housed an aesthetically  striking circular courtyard in its interior. The fourteen and a half acre  edifice mainly showcased items for the household and personal use, from the finest jewelry to early vacuum cleaners and  radiators, to cutlery and clothing.  Some of the exhibits that were crowded out of the Varied Industries building were house in the Palace of Manufactures.  The western half of the palace contained hardware while the eastern contained textiles. 

At the western entrance, there was an exhibit of 5,000 marble and alabaster sculptures. 

The theme of  `motion,' and `manufacturing process,'  was kept in almost every display. 

The palace was going to be built with huge 400 foot towers at the center of the north facades, but they were  abandoned as being too impractical and expensive. 

Nicknamed- `The Shopping Center of the Fair,' the Palace of Manufactures housed both massive 
and small exhibits. Retailers could rent small six-foot square booths in an area called `the bazaars' 
or `arcades,' to showcase and petal their wares efficiently.  There were few sections of these 
bazaars throughout the palace.

The exhibition aisles were so large,  they were given street names.

August 8th, 1904 was  Manufactures Day, every visitor to the  palace was  given a ticket for a free drawing. There was a  choice of five prizes for the winner: a silver dinner service, marble statue, a Japanese cabinet, a Porcelain statue, or a tea table service set, each valued at 500 dollars. 

The winner of  the Manufactures  Day ticket never claimed their prize.

All in all, 25,000 dollars of prizes  were given out throughout Manufacturers Day.

The last month of the Fair resulted in many of the palaces' goods being reduced in price. Postcards cost 5 for a penny, while watch fobs cost 15 cents. 

 The Welch's  Grape, and the Chautauqua Juice Companies provided fresh juice to the thirsty fairgoers. Many other concessionaires and companies provided food and snacks  as well.

Over 900 industries could be seen in this Palace alone. 



      Some of the company exhibits included:

M.D. Knowlton Company:   This Rochester New York company  exhibited a cardboard box making plant. Boxes were sold to the exhibitors to use in packaging their sold wares.  

Brown Shoe  Company:   The St. Louis company  exhibited a working display of manufacturing shoes. 300 pairs of shoes were made daily.   During the Fair, a young Brown Shoe executive met Buster Brown's creator, cartoonist Richard F. Outcault, and purchased the name from him. At the time, Buster Brown was a mischievous cartoon character, who, together with his dog Tige and sister Mary Jane, delighted children of all ages. The Brown Shoe Company was named after founder- George Warren Brown, not Buster.

Singer Sewing Machine Company :   As with the Palace of Varied Industries, Singer had a two-story  display in the Palace of Manufactures.  Lady sewing operators produced corsets and other clothing that could be purchased on site. 

Elk Manufacturing and Vending Company:   Displayed many Cigar Vending machines spread around the palace.

Rochester New York Company:  exhibited a cardboard box making plant. Boxes were sold to the exhibitors to use in packaging their sold wares.  

Majestic Manufacturing Company:   showcased  their new Majestic stoves. The company's display  looked like a a front half of a ship  docked to a wharf warehouse.
 
Simmon's Hardware Company:  showed off a dazzling display of knives and hardware incredibly arranged  into  ornate displays. Part of the exhibit  resembled a windmill  fabricated from Keen Kutter tools. The windmill `blades,' were constructed from 5,000 axes. The exhibit also included an 11 foot long extended pocket knife and seven foot long sheers- again made by Keen Kutter.   This display won a gold medal for artistry of design.
  

 Some of the foreign nation  exhibits included:


Italy:   Showcased Florentine and Venetian vases as well as fine thread and marble statue.

Hungary:   A display of beautiful and ornate Majolica.  Majolica- a  beautiful ware prepared by tin-glazing earthenware and firing it a second time. It originated  in  9th century in the  Middle East.

Denmark:  Traditional Royal Copenhagen porcelain

Austria:     A large display of watches, cut glass, silverware  and clocks. 

France:     An eloquent  showcase of  gowns, dresses and fur. Live 
models were used to great effect. Also on display  was a 100,000 
dollar  blue diamond and the world's only pink diamond. 

Mexico:     had 250 dollar sombreros  for  sale as well as gifts
 made out of onyx.


Lee  Gaskins'   AT THE FAIR  The 1904 St. Louis World's   Fair  
                     Web  Design and Art/Illustration   copyrighted  2008 
Artist sketch of the 400 foot tower
Bissell Sweeper Display.
Inside the Golden Palace  of Mermod and Jaccard, was  a crystal  Room.  The table  cost  2,000  dollars  alone  (remember ths  was 1904). 
A group of female statues in the Palace of  Manufacturers.
This Ad by Savage Arms Co. in the Palace of <anufacturers included a `coupon'  for a couple of  free shots  on the Pike's  `Hunting in the Ozarks.'   Digital picture, sent in by Mike Truax (1904 WFS) and Gary Groshel.
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