page_title: Winter Garden at Exposition Hall
section_title: Expositions
hierarchical_section_title: Winter Garden at Exposition Hall / History / Expositions
caption_attribution_description: English: A photograph by Frank E. Bingaman depicting the Winter Garden at Exposition Hall. The date of the postcard circa 1909
context_page_description: The Winter Garden at Exposition Hall was a multi-purpose facility, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Joseph Stillburg. It stood on the current site of Point State Park. The facility consisted of three buildings: Main Hall, Music Hall and Machinery Hall. The Exposition was originally supposed to be a place for social gatherings where ideas and goods could be freely exchanged; however, the facility later became Pittsburgh's premier indoor ice hockey rink.
context_section_description: The first exposition took place in September 1889 and was open to both Pittsburgh and out-of-state residents. The facility had a daily average attendance of 10,000 during the fall months; visitors were attracted to the automobile, poultry and trade shows, while others gathered to enjoy the best orchestras and bands in the nation. Victor Herbert and John Philip Sousa both played at the Exposition. Meanwhile, fashion shows from New York and Paris attracted high-society women, while free samples of balloons, popcorn and dairy products captured the attention of ordinary citizens. Finally, a roller coaster, Ferris wheel and merry-go-round helped lure the children of western Pennsylvania to the facility.
  The complex had 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of exhibit space, an art gallery and the Music Hall that held 5,500 patrons. People traveled from great distances to join the locals; many wealthy patrons traveled up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to moor their houseboats along the Allegheny's shore behind the Exposition site. Over the years, the annual exhibitions were the most successful in the country.
  However, disaster struck the Exposition in 1901, when the complex was destroyed by a fire on St. Patrick's Day. The fire was caused by wind-blown embers from a nearby stable fire. The blaze engulfed the great Main Hall, leaving Machinery Hall the only surviving building on the six-acre site. Most of the Exposition was rebuilt at a cost of $600,000 and included new versions of Machinery Hall, the Main Hall and the Music Hall. The new Main Hall was constructed of steel, stone and massive brick walls. The Main Hall's heavy doors were adorned with cut white stone and the interior was decorated and illuminated by 1,500 incandescent lights under a vaulted and girdered ceiling. However, by 1910, other cities that had been holding expositions dropped out of the field, but the Pittsburgh Exposition Society held on. Even while during the last decade, public interest in such affairs was declining, the society secured large attendance every year by increasing the facility's musical attractions by booking the greatest orchestras and bands of the country. The last exposition was held in the fall of 1916. On that occasion, the receipts fell off from the average of about $30,000, and the returns did not pay the expenses of the season. Over the next two years, hosting an exposition was deemed impossible, due to World War I and a polio epidemic.
caption: The Exposition in 1898