Jamestown Exposition: Difference between revisions
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* [http://www.boondocksnet.com/expos/jamestown.html Some contemporary documents discussing the Jamestown Exposition], Boondocks.net |
* [http://www.boondocksnet.com/expos/jamestown.html Some contemporary documents discussing the Jamestown Exposition], Boondocks.net |
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* [http://www.twainquotes.com/TwainRogersVA.html Mark Twain and Henry Huttleston Rogers in Virginia], Twain Quotes |
* [http://www.twainquotes.com/TwainRogersVA.html Mark Twain and Henry Huttleston Rogers in Virginia], Twain Quotes |
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* [http://www.navstanorva.navy.mil/expo.htm "When the World came to Town"], Naval Station Norfolk |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060813142110/http://www.navstanorva.navy.mil/expo.htm "When the World came to Town"], Naval Station Norfolk |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416033022/http://www.apva.org/jr.html Jamestown Rediscovery] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416033022/http://www.apva.org/jr.html Jamestown Rediscovery] |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071127131146/http://norfolk.gov/Neighborhoods/Services/histories_1923.asp Sewell's Point 1923 Annexation], City of Norfolk |
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* [http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum] |
* [http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum] |
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* [http://www.norfolkhistorical.org Norfolk City Historical Society] |
* [http://www.norfolkhistorical.org Norfolk City Historical Society] |
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* [http://www.norfolk.gov/ |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041022085507/http://www.norfolk.gov/education/ City of Norfolk website, Local History] |
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* [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/civwar/html/cw_000301_sewellspoint.htm Civil War and the Battle of Sewell’s Point] |
* [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/civwar/html/cw_000301_sewellspoint.htm Civil War and the Battle of Sewell’s Point] |
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* [http://www.multied.com/Navy/cwnavalhistory/ Civil War Naval History] |
* [http://www.multied.com/Navy/cwnavalhistory/ Civil War Naval History] |
Revision as of 12:09, 21 November 2017
Jamestown Exposition Site Buildings | |
Location | Bounded by Bacon, Powhatan, Farragut, Gilbert, Bainbridge, and the harbor, Norfolk, Virginia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 36°57′08″N 76°18′47″W / 36.95222°N 76.31306°W |
Area | 130 acres (53 ha) |
Built | 1907 |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 75002114[1] |
VLR No. | 122-0054 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 20, 1975 |
Designated VLR | February 18, 1975[2] |
The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many
Selecting the Norfolk area as the site
Early in the 20th century, as the tercentennial of the 1607 Founding of
During the planning phase, virtually no one thought that the original site of Jamestown would be suitable, as it was isolated and long-abandoned. There were no local facilities to handle large crowds, and it was believed that the fort housing the settlement had long ago been swallowed by the
On February 4, 1901, James M. Thomson began a campaign for the celebration in his Norfolk Dispatch, proclaiming: "Norfolk is undoubtedly the proper place for the holding of this celebration. Norfolk is today the center of the most populous portion of Virginia, and every historical, business and sentimental reason can be adduced in favor of the celebration taking place here rather than in Richmond." The Dispatch was an unrelenting champion of Norfolk as the site for the exposition, noting in subsequent editorials that "Richmond has absolutely no claim to the celebration except her location on the James River."
By September 1901, the Norfolk City Council had given support to the project. And in December, 100 prominent residents of Hampton Roads journeyed to Richmond to urge Norfolk as the site. In 1902, the Jamestown Exposition Co. was incorporated. Former Virginia Governor Fitzhugh Lee, a nephew of General Robert E. Lee and the most popular man in Virginia, was named its president.
The Company decided to locate the international exposition on a mile-long frontage at Sewell's Point. The location was almost an equal distance from the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hampton. While hard to reach by land, it was much more favorably accessible by water, which ultimately proved a great asset.
Sewell's Point: prominent, historical, but isolated
Because of the isolation of Sewell's Point, the company's choice made the site difficult to reach by land in order to develop it for the Exposition. New roads had to be built to the site. Two existing streetcar lines had to be extended a considerable distance to reach the site. The eastern portion of the newly built
Another major setback was the death of Fitzhugh Lee in 1905 while traveling in New England to drum up trade for the celebration. Henry St. George Tucker, a former Virginia Congressman, succeeded him. The Norfolk businessman David Lowenberg ran most of the operation as director general.
Opening day
Opening day was April 26, 1907, exactly 300 years after
The first day of the Exposition had its share of difficulties. Only a fifth of the electric lights could be turned on, and the Warpath recreation area was far from ready. Construction of the government pier left much of the ground in the center of the exposition muddy soup. Of the thirty-eight principal buildings and works that the Exposition Company planned for the fair, only fourteen had been completed by opening day—the Fire Engine House and the Waterfront Board Walk having been completed only in the last two days. The company failed to complete two planned buildings, the Historic Art and Education buildings, by the Exposition’s end in late November.
Prominent visitors included President Theodore Roosevelt, who opened the exposition and presided over the naval review. After the opening day, attendance dropped sharply, and never again achieved projections. The Exposition Company had initially lobbied the federal government for $1,640,000, and received a loan for an additional million, to be repaid by means of a lien on 40% of the gate receipts. When crowds failed to appear in the anticipated numbers—the exposition was attracting on average 13,000 visitors daily, only 7,400 of whom paid entrance—the company was able to repay only $140,000 of the million dollar loan. The fair began attracting negative attention in the press as early as the January before it opened, as a divisive split between members of the planning committee became public. The press who arrived for opening day found the grounds unfinished, the hotels overpriced, and the transportation offered between the fair and nearby towns insufficient.
But in time, things improved and portions of the event became spectacular. Planners asked each state of the union to contribute a building to the Exposition. While some of these buildings offered exhibits on the states' history and industry, others primarily served as embassies of a sort for visitors from the state, providing sitting rooms and guest services. Lack of interest or funds prevented participation by all, but 21 states funded houses, which bore their names: for example, Pennsylvania House, Virginia House, New Hampshire House, etc. During the exposition, days were set aside to honor the states individually. The governor of each state usually appeared to greet visitors to the state's house on these days. On June 10, 1907, "Georgia Day," Theodore Roosevelt returned to the Exposition, delivering a speech on the steps of the Georgia Building, which had been modeled after his mother's family's home.
The 340-acre (1.4 km²) site included a 122 by 60 ft (37 by 18 m) relief model of the
The railroads put on elaborate displays. The
Other technology included late-model automobiles, autoboats, and electric and steam traction engines, each in its highest stage of development. The exposition was perhaps most notable for the display of military prowess; warships of many nations, including the sixteen battleships of the United States, participated in a naval review, and all kinds of modern military hardware were on display.
A controversial feature of the exposition was its "Negro Building", designed by
Exhibits from both occupational and classical black educational institutions were represented. While the Exposition was a money-loser and derided by many in the press, the Negro Hall achieved nearly universal praise. It was the only exhibit visited by President Roosevelt in either of his visits. Although most commercial ventures lost money, the branch bank in the Negro Hall, affiliated with a local African-American institution, recorded one of the Exposition’s only profits, doing $75,731.87 in business in the course of the fair.[citation needed]
In addition to the ships anchored at Hampton Roads, the exposition provided a campground sufficient to house five thousand troops. Military and “semi-military” men in uniform were admitted for the price of a single day’s admission, fifty cents, and were permitted to come and go after that, as long as they were encamped at the exposition grounds and drilled regularly on the parade ground. This accounts for many of the 43% of people tallied entering the fair daily who did not pay admission. The organizers felt the troops provided informal entertainment and were an attraction to the exposition.
In conjunction with the first day of Exposition the U.S. Post Office issued a series of three
The Exposition closed on December 1, 1907, as a financial failure, losing several million dollars. Attendance had been 3 million, a fraction of the numbers promised by the promoters. But, it had other benefits for the United States and for Norfolk and Hampton Roads.
Nearly every Congressman and Senator of prominence had attended the exposition, which showcased Sewell's Point. Of naval importance in the early Civil War, it had been virtually forgotten since shortly after its bombardment and return to Union hands in 1862. The admirals in Norfolk urged redevelopment of the exposition site as a Naval Base, to use the infrastructure which had been built.
Nearly 10 years would elapse before the idea, given impetus by
On June 28, 1917, President
Some of the exposition buildings which were taken over by the
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ "Jamestown Exposition Issue". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
- ^ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (January 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Jamestown Exposition Site Buildings" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
- ^ Davyd Foard Hood (April 1982). "Kenneth L. Howard House" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
External links
- Hampton Roads Naval Museum-U.S. Navy Museum in Hampton Roads, VA and holder of many Jamestown Exposition artifacts and papers
- Some contemporary documents discussing the Jamestown Exposition, Boondocks.net
- Mark Twain and Henry Huttleston Rogers in Virginia, Twain Quotes
- "When the World came to Town", Naval Station Norfolk
- Jamestown Rediscovery
- Sewell's Point 1923 Annexation, City of Norfolk
- Hampton Roads Naval Museum
- Norfolk City Historical Society
- City of Norfolk website, Local History
- Civil War and the Battle of Sewell’s Point
- Civil War Naval History
- Naval Station Norfolk website
- Norfolk & Western Historical Society. – Covers Virginian history
- Virginian Railway (VGN) Enthusiasts. – Non-profit group of preservationists, authors, photographers, historians, modelers, and railfans
- listing of Virginian Railway authors and their works
- "The Jamestown Exhibition Edition". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. XIV: 8923–9042. June 1907. Retrieved 2009-07-10.)
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