In 1884 and 1984, New Orleans was host to world’s fairs.
Although they were a century apart, the two expositions had
several elements in common: They dazzled. They drew crowds. And
they lost money. The first fair, on the site of a former
plantation, was dubbed the World’s Industrial and Cotton
Centennial Exposition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
first shipment of U.S. cotton to England. When it opened — two
weeks late — on Dec. 16, 1884, the city was “decorated as she
never was before,” a newspaper proclaimed. The main building,
which covered 33 acres, was the biggest roofed structure in the
United States. The fair also featured the world’s biggest
greenhouse, named Horticultural Hall. It was the only building
to be used after the fair closed, deep in debt, in May 1885. It
was destroyed by a 1915 hurricane. State Treasurer Edward Burke,
who had been the fair’s director general, was charged with
forgery and fraud and fled the country with nearly $1.8 million,
which accounted for most of the expositi