Still Shining! Discovering Lost Treasures from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair

by Diane Rademacher

As Midnight struck on Dec. 1, 1904, World's Fair President David R. Francis stood before a hushed crowd of 100,000 in Forest Park in St. Louis. He then threw a switch that extinguished forever the fair that had been a magical kingdom for several months. And yet... from a department store in Philadelphia to a hilltop in Birmingham, from a front yard in Moberly, Missouri, to a museum in Alaska-and in dozens of other places-the World's Fair still lives on. In Still Shining!, Diane Rademacher tracks down the present history and location of the 1904 World's Fair most beloved buildings and structures. Rademacher's book contains original pictures of famous structures and how they look today.

Genres: History

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening look at things and places that still exist around St. Louis and the USA that once were seen at the St. Louis World's Fair.

I learned of a couple of homes near where I grew up that were artifacts themselves, relics of the fair. Some of the remaining features I was aware of -- the Art Museum and bird cage at the zoo, but others I had no idea: Thomas Jefferson's first grave marker; THE Liberty Bell. Both made appearances in St. Louis, 1904.

I got an up-close look at human beings featured in an archeological area, when they were really just people living traditional lives in the modern world.

The book had a few simple editing misses (Cole Country Historical Society--three times!?), but otherwise was well presented.

At times, I almost felt like I was there.

A great supplement to the newly re-worked Fair exhibit at the Missouri History Museum.

[Mary Norfleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fascinating little book for anyone interested in the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, officially named the Universal Exposition of 1904 and held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Born and raised in St. Louis, I heard stories of the World's Fair all my life. My husband's grandfather was one of thousands of craftsmen hired to build the many buildings at the Fair. However, I learned so much more from this book. I knew, of course, that the St. Louis Art Museum was one of the original World's Fair building, but did not realize how many, many more buildings and artifacts has been preserved. I really enjoyed reading about how they came to be exhibited at the Fair and what happened to them afterward. I also spent time looking them up on the Internet to see what they look like now.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This answered some questions for me. I've been wondering where all that stuff ended up. This book highlighted the final destinations for several of the buildings, statues, etc., from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, but I admit I still want to know more.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tutor at Bierbaum Elementry. I had the opprotunity to attend a 4th grade assembly where the author of this book was speaking to the students.
Her book is not jut intresting because it is about the 1904 Worlds Fair. The reason this book is unique is because it tells you where you can find things today that were at the 1904 Worlds Fair.Everyone knows that iced tea and the ice cream cone made their debut at the fair, but did you know that the electric typewriter also made it's debut at the Fair. The worlds largest pipe organ which cost $105,000 to build and contained 10,059 pipes 140 stops is around still today. Daily concerts are given on it everyday at Lord and Taylors in Phildelphia, Pennsylvania The organ is now valued at $50 million. The organ now has30,000 pipes,451stops and six keyboards and is still the worlds largest organ. There are many more facts like this that you can find in Diane Rademacher's book "Still shining!"