Exposition Universelle de 1889, held in
Paris was a great success and showed the world the greatness of
France. Many countries exhibited in Paris, promoting there goods and
manufacturing prowess, the United States mounted a halfhearted
effort, coming off as unsophisticated hicks unready to be a world
power. It was therefore decided that the United States would host a
World's Fair in 1893, honoring the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus but what city
would host this gala face saving event? New York, Washington DC,
Chicago and St. Louis all vied for the privilege of being the venue
for the big show and the matter was to be resolved by the US House of
Representatives. Chicago's city counsel formed a committee of
powerful citizens to insure the city would prevail and it did.
Architects Daniel Burnham and John W. Root were put in charge of
bringing the whole thing together using Root's creative genius and
Burnham's organizational skills. Burnham assembled a fraternity of
the county's best architects such as, George Post, Henry Van Brunt,
Charles McKim and enlisted Frederick Law Olmsted to transform the
marshy Jackson Park into a suitable fair grounds. All the states and
territories were to have a presence at the fair in the form of a
pavilion.
By July of 1891 the state of Wisconsin
had appointed a board of managers to oversee all matter concerning
the state's presents at the fair. The board specified that the
building was to be constructed entirely of materials from Wisconsin,
have no less 10,000 square feet of floor space at a coast exceed
$30,000 and plans were to be submitted by September 15,1891. The
winning architect would receive a prize of $300 and there was to be a
second prize of $200. There were four competing plans from; Messrs.
Ferry and Clas, Mr. Holbrook, Mr. Douglas all of Milwaukee and
William Waters of Oshkosh. The board announced their decision on
October 21, 1891, naming Mr. Waters as the winner and James Douglas
as taking second prize. On February 21, 1892 a notice for bids for
contractors was placed in the Oshkosh Times with announcement coming
in early April that Houle Bros. of Oshkosh would build the structure.
And so it was that by the opening of the fair, Wisconsin had a fine
building and exhibition hall. Only after the fair was open a few
months did the bickering start. The Milwaukee Journal praised the
hall, claiming it to have won first prize and took the Milwaukee
Sentinel to task for making no mention of it. The Sentinel replied
that several state buildings received awards but all where of the
same degree with no first place being recognized. As final accounts
were taken several sources noted that the Wisconsin State Building
was singled
out as architecturally unique, well
built and commodious for the visitors.
The end of the fair was not however the end of Wisconsin's beautiful building, like several other structures it was moved. In 1894 a banker from Wamego, Kansas named James C. Rodgers purchased the building and had it disassembled, shipped the Kansas City where it was reassembled on a lot on the corner of Grand Avenue and Seventh St., it served as a private gambling club called the Wisconsin Club. The casino failed and it was used as an annex for the hotel across the street.
In 1898 the Elks Club leased the place and eventually bought it and used it as their club house until finding new digs in 1951. For the next ten years it served as refuge for homeless men. It was razed to make way for a parking lot in 1961.
In 1898 the Elks Club leased the place and eventually bought it and used it as their club house until finding new digs in 1951. For the next ten years it served as refuge for homeless men. It was razed to make way for a parking lot in 1961.
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