The Greater America Exposition was a world's fair held on
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...
from July 1 to October 31, 1899.
Formation
After the 1898
Trans-Mississippi Exposition
The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 1 to November 1, 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. The Ind ...
exhibition a group of investors decided to retain some of the buildings and hold a second season at
Kountze Park
Kountze Park is an urban public park located at 1920 Pinkney Street in the Kountze Place neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. The Park is historically significant as the site of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898.
...
in 1899 with a new theme.
President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
expressed support for the exhibition as an opportunity to show America's new colonial possessions following the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
.
Grounds
The grounds were refurbished with 500 staff patching and painting buildings and replanting flower beds.
And the concrete walkways were replaced by red brick ones.
Buildings
There were
agriculture,
apiary,
colonial exhibits,
dairy,
fine arts and liberal arts,
horticulture,
international,
manufactures,
and
mines and mining,
buildings,
a machinery hall,
a 520 by 150 feet United States pavilion,
and auxiliary buildings including press, fire, police and a hospital.
New possessions
One March 18, 1899 the government agreed to transport agents to fetch exhibits from Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Porto Rico.
60 tubs of Hawaiian plants were destroyed when customs officials dumped the Hawaiian shipment,
and a second Hawaiian shipment went missing between San Francisco and Omaha.
After the exhibition some of the Hawaiian exhibits were sent to a forthcoming Paris exhibition.
The Cuban village included over 700 snakes, a garrotte and the hangman Valentine Ruiz.
The Philippines had planned to include monkeys, native birds and four water buffaloes. Six water buffaloes were shipped though only two water buffaloes arrived in Omaha.
See also
*
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...
for the Treaty that led to the new possessions which McKinley wanted to show.
References
External links
"Trans-Mississippi Exposition"by UNL and the University of Omaha has many images of the buildings at the fair.
"A History of the 1899 Greater America Exposition"by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com
{{List of world's fairs in the United States
1899 in Nebraska
1899 festivals
19th century in Omaha, Nebraska
History of North Omaha, Nebraska
World's fairs in the United States
Aftermath of the Spanish–American War in the United States
Colonial exhibitions
Trans-Mississippi Exposition
Presidency of William McKinley