Opened on June 1, the Battle Abbey was designed as a 400 x 250 foot old convent near Hastings, England, where the Normans defeated the Saxons. It was fashioned complete with towers, bastions, parapet, drawbridge; essentially it was a museum of American Wars with six huge cycloramas depicting famous American battles such as Gettysburg and Manassas.
The whole conveyed a very realistic impression of the horrors of war. An able lecturer explained the action and called attention to details. Smaller war scenes and an extensive collection of war relics filled the remainder of the building. The attendants were dressed in both Union and Confederate military uniforms.
Additional cycloramas were shown which included depictions of the battles of Yorktown, New Orleans, Buena Vista, Custer's Massacre and Manila.
The Gettysburg cyclorama was 50 feet high and 400 feet in circumference and was brilliant in detail.
The Battle Abbey was one of the few attractions that lost money.
Exhibit Statictics:
Building cost: 62,000 dollars
Price of Admission- 25 cents adults, 15 cents children
Exhibition Profit- 52,980.03 dollars
Lee Gaskins' AT THE FAIR The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Web Design and Art/Illustration copyrighted 2008
