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Exposition Universelle de 1900

Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Main Entrance (Porte Monumental) René Binet, architect View of the entire stereo card.

Main Entrance (Porte Monumental) René Binet, architect View of the entire stereo card.

Stereographs (also called stereograms) were double photographs intended to be viewed with a stereoscope to give a three-dimensional impression of the subject. By 1900, stereographic sets documenting world events or famous works of art and architecture were so popular that they were sold in department stores and door to door. This set of stereographs, published by the Collection Stéréoptique Félix Potin, records this last and largest exposition of the 19th century. Other images of the 1900 Paris exposition in image collections include albums by Neurdein Frères.

Click a slide to view a larger image and detailed description

Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Main Entrance (Porte Monumentale)

René Binet, architect

This controversial structure on the Place de la Concorde was both ridiculed
and praised by the Parisian press. Beneath its grand arch were ticket
booths for entrance into the fairgrounds.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Main Entrance (Porte Monumentale)

René Binet, architect

This detail shows the entry area beneath the grand arch.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Celestial Globe (Globe Céleste) and Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel for the
Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889. Construction began in 1887.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Grand Palais

Henri Daglane, Louis Albert Louvet,
Charles Louis Girault, and Albert Théophile Félix Thomas, architects

This beautiful palace housed the Centennale, an exhibition of 19th-century
French art; the Décennale, an exhibition of French art from the previous decade;
and international works of art. Today it holds the Galeries Nationales
du Grand Palais, a planetarium, and the Palais de la Découverte.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Petit Palais

Charles Louis Girault, architect

Situated opposite the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais housed a retrospective exposition
of French arts. Today it is home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Pavilion of Asiatic Russia (Palais de l’Asie Russe)

Roman Meltzer, architect

This grand complex of structures, designed by one of Russia’s preeminent architects,
was built in the form of a kremlin (fortress) in a Russian revival style.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Palace of Metallurgy and Mines (Palais de la Metallurgie et des Mines)

Marcellin Varcollier, architect

This building on the Champs-de-Mars was dedicated to the mining and
metalwork industries. It included exhibits of coal, gems, and cast iron.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Palace of Metallurgy and Mines
(Palais de la Metallurgie et des Mines)

Marcellin Varcollier, architect

This detail shows the elaborate façade of the vast
exhibition hall dedicated to mining and metalwork.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Pavilion of Italy (Palais de l’Italie)

Carlo Cepi, C. Gilodi, and Giuseppe Salvadori, architects

The design of this palace, Built in a style derived from the Venetian Gothic, skillfully combines details from the
Doge’s Palace and the basilica of San Marco.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Pavilion of Serbia

Ambroise Baudry, architect

Described at the time as in the "Serbo-Byzantine" style, this pavilion
housed an exhibit of wines, pork products, and silk, including a display of silkworm
cocoons, and an array of Serbian national costumes.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Conservatories of the City of Paris (Grandes Serres)

Charles Gautier, architect

These two greenhouses occupied the left bank of the Seine, one with native
French plants, the other with foreign and exotic horticultural displays.
Exposition Universelle de 1900 Paris, April 15–November 12, 1900

Moving Sidewalk (Trottoir Roulant)

Schmidt and Silsbee, architects

The fun of getting on and off this electric three-tiered sidewalk (one level stationary,
the next moving at four kilometers per hour, the third at nine kilometers per hour) made it one of the fair's
greatest amusements. Schmidt and Silsbee were American engineers.

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