Kansas State Building
Architect: Seymour Davis, Topeka, Kansas
Area: 15,176
Cost: $23,000
Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
THE KANSAS BUILDING.—The Kansas Building occupied the extreme northwest corner of the grounds close to the Eskimo Village. It was cruciform in design, two stories in height, costing $20,000, and with a floor area of about 14,000 square feet, The material used in the construction came entirely from Kansas. The building contained the usual officers club and reception rooms, but abundant space remained for exhibits, some of which were of a remarkable character. What attracted most attention and was the subject of universal comment was a great plain and mountain scene in the rotunda, natural scenery, peopled with the wild animals which flourished in Kansas before that region was settled by the whites. The Kansas University contributed much of this splendid display, the mounting of which was a triumph of the taxidermist’s skill. There were all the animals known to the region, from the buffalo down to the prairie dog, and the space about the wonderful exhibit was thronged from morning until night. There was no other state building which contributed so great a novelty of this character, though some states, Michigan especially, exhibited displays of their fauna without the accompaniment of natural surroundings. A showing was also made of the mineral resources of the state, by no means a discreditable one, for Kansas has great resources of the sort, especially in coal, while of agricultural products, as might have been expected, the display was something imposing.
Kansas State Building
The next State in order is Kansas. Its building is unique in every way, inside and out, and it never fails to attract great attention. The building is of a cruciform plan, and measures 135 feet from north to south and 140 feet from east to west. It was one of the first State Buildings to be completed, and the first to be dedicated. The women of Kansas stand out as shining examples of progress and independence. They were very largely the promoters of the Kansas Building, and the distinctive features to be seen here are exhibits made by organizations of women from that State, particularly in the line of educational institutions. The rear of the building was especially designed for the valuable natural history collection of the State University, which is one of the most notable exhibits of the Fair. On the same floor are offices for the Board of Commissioners ; four flights of stairs lead to the second floor where are rooms for the woman’s exhibit, and parlors for men and women. The bas-reliefs in front of the tower represent the State as she was when admitted into the Union in 1861, armed for her struggle, and again, under her present prosperous aspect, crowned with the wealth of endless resources. Seymour Davis, of Topeka, is the architect of the building, which is constructed entirely of Kansas material, and cost nearly $30,000.
Joyce Harrison says
“[T]he valuable natural history collection of the State University, which is one of the most notable exhibits of the Fair,” still exists and is housed at the University of Kansas’s Biodiversity Institute: https://biodiversity.ku.edu/exhibits/the-panorama. Come see it Tuesdays through Sundays!