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The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Louisville's Southern Exposition, 1883-1885

Title

Louisville's Southern Exposition, 1883-1885

Subject

Southern Exposition (Louisville, Ky.)

Description

The Southern Exposition, held in Louisville from 1883-1887, was driven by the city’s need to succeed in a competitive national economy. The Exposition provided Louisville with the opportunity to showcase its manufacturing capabilities and strengthen business relationships with both the North and the South. The Exposition opened in 1883 on the city’s southern outskirts—today’s Central Park, and St. James and Belgravia Courts. The Exposition’s main building—perhaps the largest wooden building ever erected in the United States—covered thirteen acres. Much of the main building was devoted to machinery exhibits, where products ranging from barbed wire to silk fabric were created. The Exposition’s agricultural department presented a working farm and horticultural garden, featuring crops of tobacco, corn, hemp, flax, peanuts, and castor oil plants, as well as a vast field of cotton growing to the south of the main building. An art gallery housed an exhibition of masterpieces by artists from around the world; visitors also enjoyed floral displays, concerts, theatrical performances, and a weekly fireworks show. One of the main attractions of Louisville’s Exposition was its ability to remain open at night. It was lit by 4,600 lamps, the largest display yet of Thomas Edison’s recently invented incandescent lights. Although originally planned to operate for only one season, the great popularity of the Southern Exposition resulted in its continuation until 1887.

Source

Print Collection, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky

Publisher

The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky

Date

circa 1883-1885

Type

Collection

Coverage

19th century
1880s

Collection Items

  • Scene of the opening ceremonies of the 1883 Southern Exposition. President Chester Arthur spoke at the event.

  • Illustrations from Harper's Weekly of scenes from the Southern Exposition including the interior of the art gallery, the pavilion, the opening ceremonies, and various exhibits.

  • View of the Southern Exposition's main building, with insets of the art gallery and the park.

  • 1883 Exhibitor's Pass to the Southern Exposition for Augustus Weber.

  • Woodcut engraving from an 1884 issue of Harper's Weekly shows the Swiss chalet and surroundings at the Southern Exposition.

  • Illustrations from Harper's Weekly of scenes from the Southern Exposition including the art gallery, the model farm, the park, and the electric railway.

  • Color illustrations from Harper's Weekly of views in and around the city during the Southern Exposition including the Courier-Journal building, Main Street, the Blind Asylum, and scenes of the riverfront.

  • Illustration from Harper's Weekly of the front of the Southern Exposition building as official visitors arrive in carriages. One prominent visitor was President Chester Arthur, who was present at the Exposition's opening ceremonies in 1883.

  • Black and white image of the Southern Exposition main building and surroundings. The four interior courts and fountains of the main building are clearly visible.

  • Color illustration from a German language newspaper of the central hall of the exposition building.

  • Art Gallery at the Southern Exposition, 1883. The gallery exhibited paintings provided by the Smithsonian Institute, as well as art from the private collections of J. P. Morgan, August Belmont, Jay Gould, Victor Newcomb, and John Jacob Astor. Former President Ulysses S. Grant loaned his collection of curios acquired during his world travels.

  • This cottage was erected for the Southern Exposition by the Swiss colonists in Kentucky, under the direct of the Kentucky Geological Survey and the Bureau of Immigration. Photographed by E. Klauber in 1883.

  • A lithograph of the Southern Exposition's main building, with a small inset of the art gallery. Residential development resulted in the building's demolition in 1889. Components of the building were used in other construction projects, including the Auditorium-Ampitheater at Fourth and Hill Streets.

  • The central nave of the Southern Exposition's main building, looking to the north.

  • Mule-drawn streetcar in front of Southern Exposition building, 1883. Mule-drawn streetcars were eventually replaced by the faster and more comfortable electric streetcars. Louisville's first electric streetcar line began operation in 1889.

  • The first electric generator in Louisville used at the Southern Exposition, 1883.

  • Illustration from Harper's Weekly of the Southern Exposition building and grounds. This image illustrates the residential development that grew up around the Exposition, a contrast to the open land that surrounded it at its opening in 1883.

  • Color lithograph of the Southern Exposition buildings, 1883. An electric rail line, visible in the background, circled the Exposition grounds and delighted visitors by traversing an underground tunnel lit by Edison's incandescent bulbs.