The tradition of International Expositions, more commonly known as World’s Fairs, started in 1851 at Hyde Park, London.

Organized by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, and innovator Sir Henry Cole, The Great Exhibition took inspiration from common agricultural expositions. Much more grand than its predecessors, it included objects and exhibits from around the world.

An external view of the Transept Crystal Palace from the Prince of Wales Gate vantage point. Vincent Brooks of Day and Sons Publishers completed this colored lithograph in 1851. In the front of the palace a crowd of fair attendees can be seen, including a man selling pies and sailors on shore leave.
​-Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

An internal view of the Transept Crystal Palace showing the famous Osler Crystal Fountain. John Absolon of Llyod Brothers & Company completed this color lithograph in 1851.
​-Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

Around the turn of the 20th century, the ability to travel internationally for pleasure and experience new cultures from across the globe was a luxury mostly limited to the upper classes. The World’s Fair brought the global community together in a way nothing had before. For the first time, the average citizen in the American Midwest was able to see people and objects from Asia or Africa.

Because of this, World’s Fairs quickly gained enormous cultural significance, with host nations dedicating substantial sums of money and plots of land for these events. World’s Fairs were a way for nations to demonstrate their advances in technology, art, and entertainment with the rest of the world while also making other cultures more accessible.

At the 1904 Saint Louis Fair, called the “Louisiana Purchase Exposition” a group of Sinhalese dancers posed with elephants. This area of the fair was known as the “Mysterious Asia concession.”
– ​Courtesy of St. Louis Public Library Digital Collections

“Court of the States” from the 1939-40 World’s Fair “World of Tomorrow”.
– From the archives of the Old Barracks Association 

State buildings became a staple feature of World’s Fairs hosted in the United States. Participating states would design elaborate buildings to showcase their exhibits, similar to the way national pavilions would feature their home countries. These buildings served as a symbol of their creators by using local materials and integrating designs based on regional architecture.

Committees devoted both time and money in order to represent their state in the best light on such an international stage.