"The Pan-Am Legacy"
Did the Exposition meet the goals that were set by the planners? From the outset, the public aim of the Exposition was to celebrate the achievements and advances of the countries of the Western Hemisphere. This celebration would also encourage Pan-Americanism and future co-operation between the nations. In reality the Exposition openly promoted the strides taken by the United States while subtly comparing it to the less technologically advanced countries of Latin and South America. In a time before television and airplanes, these exhibits were the closest that the vast majority of the visitors would come to these foreign cultures. Therefore how the cultures were displayed and the exhibits promoted greatly influenced the opinions of the visitors. For example, according to the Official Catalogue and Guide, exhibits in the Ethnology Building displayed, among other things, "the customs and institutions of wild and barbarian tribes." On the Midway, visitors had the opportunity to wander through contrived villages, viewing a slice of the native life as if viewing animals in a zoo. The cultures on display undoubtedly seemed primitive against the backdrop of the new technology on display in the Electricity Building and the overwhelming power of the Electric Tower.
A less publicized but nonetheless important goal of the organizers, mostly businessmen, was to make a profit. In this regard the Exposition was a dismal failure. From the very beginning, the Pan-Am was in serious financial trouble. This was due to a combination of factors. A harsh winter delayed completion of some of the exhibits and many were unfinished by the May 1st Opening Day. Early visitors to the Exposition commented that "we are here but you are not ready" (A.C. Blanchard of Montpelier, Vermont, May 3,1901) and "may be better in about two months" (O.G. Specker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1901). Generally the comments of the early visitors were quite negative. An unusually cold and wet summer also reduced visitation. There were various efforts to bolster attendance. These included discounted railroad fares and admission prices. Rescheduling President McKinley's visit (originally scheduled for May) initially helped. President's Day set an attendance record with 116,000 visitors. But McKinley's assassination cast a shadow over the last weeks of the Exposition, and the Temple of Music, the most elaborate of all the buildings, became a memorial to the popular president. In the end the Exposition drew 5,306,859 paid visitors (compared to the 21,477,712 to the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition)1 and lost $6 million.
The physical impact of the Exposition on the city of Buffalo is the easiest aspect to quantify. After the closing day, the Exposition's exhibits were disassembled. Some of the exhibits were used at the 1902 South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition in Charleston and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. Others have become part of the collections of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society and the Buffalo Museum of Science. The temporary buildings were torn down and the materials sold. Only the New York State Building, now the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, was meant to be a permanent structure. The canals were filled in and the public infrastructure left over from the Exposition (electrical and water lines, roads) allowed the former farm land to eventually be developed into a residential neighborhood.
There has been significant debate concerning the lingering impact of the Pan-American Exposition had on the city of Buffalo.2 But suffice it to say that an event that started out with such majesty and glorious expectations, an event that was supposed to celebrate Buffalo's arrival as a city of power, the disappointment of its outcome left an impact on the city. The city lost a bit of its prestige and its self-confidence. While Buffalo would remain an influential hub of financial wealth for years to come, a little of the sparkle was gone. But left forever in the history of Buffalo was a short time when during the day it was the Rainbow City and at night it glowed.
1. Statistics cited in Stolen Glory: The McKinley Assassination by Dr. Jack C. Fisher (p.145) as published in the Final Report, Pan-American Exposition by William Buchanan.
2. For competing opinions, see Symbol and Show: The Pan-American Exposition of 1901 by Austin M. Fox [Buffalo, NY: Meyer Enterprises, 1987] and High Hopes: The Rise and Decline of Buffalo, New York by Mark Goldman [Albany: State University Press, 1983]