The importance and value of international ex, positions shown by those held abroad led to a determination on the part of the United States to celebrate the centennial of the independence of the United States by an international exposition to he held in Philadelphia in 1876, a description of which forms the subject of a special article under the title of CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION, IN TERNATIONAL (q.v.).
The French Government, desirous of showing to the world the assured success of the Republic, and incidentally to recommend the French system of industrial protection, determined to hold a universal exposition in Paris in 1878, and an invitation was issued by President MacMa lion inviting all nations to participate. The site selected was the Champs de Nla•s, as in the exposition of 181;7, to which teas added an elevated plateau ou opposite side of the Seine, known as the and conneeted by the historical bridge of Jena. The main building, of iron and glass, was rectangular in form, and covered 27,900 square yards. 'Plc' art galleries and the buildings erected for the special exhibits made by the authorities of the city of l'aris occu pied a court in the cent re of the building. The Palace of the was of stoic', and re mained as a permanent memorial of the exposi hi addition there were numerous smaller structures in which special exhibits were shown, and the various buildings of foreign governments. The cost of the exposition was over $6,000,000, which stun was raised by grants from the Freneh Government and the city of Paris, but the re ceipts were only about 82.000,000. The total number of exhibitors was about 52,835, which was less than in Vienna, and was explained by the fact that several governments, including Ger many, refused to participate in the exposition. The exhibits were viewed by an international jury who distributed among the exhibitors from the United States 10 grand prizes, 7 special prizes, 143 gold medals, 224 silver medals, 277 bronze medals, and 208 honorable mentions. In ternational congresses were held continuously throughout the exposition, and in all some thirty were convened at which representatives from for eign governments were present and discussed the subjects under consideration. The exposition was
formally opened on May 1, and continued until October 31, 1878. The total number of admis sions to the exposition was 16.159,719.
Among the minor expositions that followed the Paris Exposition may be mentioned those held in Amsterdam in 1883, Calcutta in 1884. Antwerp in 1885, Edinburgh in 1886, and Melbourne in 1888.
It had become a custom for the French Govern ment to hold an exposition every eleven years, and accordingly invitations were issued to for eign governments to attend a universal exposi tion to he held in Paris in 1889, ostensibly to celebrate the centenary of French independence. The grounds selected for the exposition were the Champs de Mars, 12S acres; the Troeadi-ro Garden, 42 acres: the Esplanade des Invalides, 38 acres; and the Quai d'Orsay from the Champs de Mars to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 20 acres, making a total of 228 acres. The principal building was the Palace of Industries. which was a large parallelogram flanked by two wings and covering 1.138.930 square feet. It was surmounted by a central dome l95 feet high and having an exterior diameter of 120 feet. Beyond this were the twin palaces of the Fine and Lib eral Arts, each of which covered 202.232 square feet and was surmounted by a cupola 183 feet high. Numerous other smaller structures were on the grounds, including those of various gov ernments. The important architectural feature of the exposition, however, was the famous Eiffel tower (q.v.), 984 feet high, which remained as a memorial. The total number of exhibitors was over 61,722, whose displays were examined by a jury of awards who recommended 33.139 awards. More than seventy international con gresses convened during the exposition and dele gates from various governments were appointed to discuss the subjects that were brought before them. The exposition was opened on May 6, and closed November 6, 1839, and was visited by 25,121,975 persons.
No expositions of importance took place in the years that followed until 13'93, when the four hun dredth anniversary of the discovery of America was celebrated in the United States by the World's Columbian Exposition (q.v.), held in Chicago, 111.