Bring back the Pan-American Exposition

By Lily McMenemy, Assistant Opinion Editor and Layout Editor

What if Buffalo, instead of the dusty “Nickel City” with run-down industrial areas and crumbling economy, was the “Rainbow City,” or even the “City of Lights” that it used to be? 

Last week I joined The Griffin Editor-in-Chief, Mikayla Boyd, on a trip to the informative and enchanting Buffalo History Museum, and I quickly became very irritated. Amongst dazzling ballrooms of pillars and glowing lamps, an exhibit stood for an even more marvelous city. Spanish and Roman architecture blended seamlessly, alight with rich, colorful detail in every stretch of plaster – ornate statues, gold detailing, giant archways and domes. An evening skyline so bright it looks like it was drawn with chalk on a blackboard. 

In 1901, a world’s fair, called the Pan-American Exposition, was held in Buffalo for six months. It featured displays of technology, art and performances based on the Wild West, Operas and Mock Cavalry displays. There were Aerio-Cycles, a miniature Sphinx, Upside-Down Houses and rides that could take you “to the moon.” An art-deco bazaar spanned 35 acres of what is now Delaware Park and Hoyt Lake. 

Assistant Opinion Editor Lily McMenemy standing on the stairs of the Buffalo History Museum

The expo opened with a parade by Teddy Roosevelt and ended with the assassination William McKinley – the man he was Vice President for. The infamous shooting shaped Roosevelt’s term as one of the most successful presidents of America.

To imagine the celebration of technology and culture under magnificent buildings, bustling streets exploding with music and fanciful shows is intoxicating, and as I stood immersing myself in the thought of the display and looking at a city exactly how I imagined Atlantis, I was astounded as to why they ever took it down. As we moved through the museum, all I could think about was how much richer and more prosperous Buffalo would be if they had let the Pan-Am Expo remain, or even brought it back intermittently. Frankly, I was furious and you should be too. Not only would a fair of this kind do wonders for the economy, but Buffalo is an amazing place, and it’s deserving of some celebration, some marvel and some spectacle. 

When you drive into Buffalo, the sign says, “An All America City.” What better way to honor this than to host a booming exposition of the Americas?