Here are some photographs of the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans, a World's Fair event. It was on the site of what is today Audubon Park.

The celebration was to mark the centennial of America's first export of cotton in 1784. New Orleans was selected as the host city for being home of the Cotton Exchange, and to help restore the struggling post-war economy, even though New Orleans was not the site of the first cotton export. (Mobile?)

This is an aerial (from a balloon?) of the Main Building, which, at 33 acres, was the largest expanse ever built under one roof at the time. The octagonal building in the foreground is the Mexico exhibit, which I'll get to below. The Main Building was intended to resemble The Louvre in Paris in an attempt to portray its artistic significance.

A closer view of the Main Building, looking towards the river, with the Mexico exhibit in the distance.

This is the exhibit space inside the Main Building. It was a showcase of different wares and crafts, technologies, musical instruments, industrial products, food, alcohol, and homeware. The roof contained skylights, to help illuminate the interior.

At the center of the Main Building was the Music Hall. This is where many musical concerts and other speaking events were staged. It's main feature was a large pipe organ behind the elevated choir stand.

You get a better view of the pipe organ in this photo. The pipe organ was intended to help drown out the noise created by a large steam-driven electrical generator that powered more than 5,000 lightbulbs illuminating the interior and exterior of the Main Building. It was the most lighted place in the world, and was intended to be a glimpse of the future, thanks to Edison's breakthrough inventions. Looking at this photo, this appears to be a King Rex event, held in the Music Hall to kick off the Mardi Gras celebration.

The Edison Co. Light Plant, the largest of its kind at the time. The electric lighting allowed the exposition to remain open to visitors after the sun went down, until 9 p.m. each night. Fireworks often closed out the day along the riverfront, where many patrons boarded steam boats to and from Canal Street to attend the event.

Another crowded spectacle inside the Music Hall. Note the light fixtures hanging from the rafters, which I'm sure was a novel attraction in and of itself.

This was the Mexico exhibit, a favorite amongst the visitors for its flowery and ornate decorations. One of the biggest hits of the entire fair was the Mexico band, called the Mexican Typical Orchestra, that helped kick off many ceremonies at the exposition. The band was so beloved by New Orleanians that as soon as they'd appear on stage to assemble, the crowd would burst into cheers and applause. One of its biggest ovations was when they struck up "Dixie" after a ceremony to complicated to explain here. After they finished Dixie, the band led into "Yankee Doodle" and the joyous eruption from the crowd was was so thunderous and sustained that it was described as "deafening."

Other major buildings at the exposition included Horticultural Hall, the Government and States Building, the Livestock Stable, and the Factories buildings, amongst others.

Horticultural Hall, which was essentially a large greenhouse, was the only one constructed to be permanent. Unfortunately, hurricanes in 1909 and again in 1915 led to its destruction.

Inside the Government Building were exhibits from almost all of the 38 states and other territories of the Union, and many foreign countries, including Japan, China and others from Central and South America. Exhibits included everything from rocks, soils, plants, fruits, vegetables, education models, music, books, and many other representations unique to each area.

Here are some photos inside the Government Building:

(That's cotton)

(Nebraska corn)

(China?)

Horticultural Hall:

(Water fountain in background)

Not much remains from the 1884 fair in New Orleans today, but a few things still do. A boulder on the 18th fairway of the golf course is not a rumored meteor, but is an iron ore deposit left over from the Alabama exhibit. A statue on Esplanade called "Peace, the Genius of History" is a holdover from the fair. And, the main entrance to the fair on Prytania Street, off Calhoun, still serves as an entrance to the park, along "Exposition Boulevard."

The event is considered to have established the Crescent City as an American tourist destination.

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