The Pike was a wide mile-long span of the Fair that showcased all sorts of amusements and activities.
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Though the major theme of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair was one of education, the Pike's exhibits were a mixed bag of attractions, from the elaborate to the simple, that focused on not only informing the average fairgoer, but thrilling, scaring, and humoring them with elaborate and sometimes eyebrow-raising amusements.
These rides, attractions and concessions were more varied, elaborate and costly (seven to eight million dollars), than any previous Exposition. Some called it a headquarters for fun and entertainment, while others labeled it an overelaborate carnival and a den of iniquity.
The Pike turned south at the two ends, which created wider entrances to handle the enormous evening mobs.
The expression `Coming down the Pike,' originated from this area of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
Concessionaires and barkers, armed with megaphones lined the Pike, competing with blaring brass bands for the fairgoer's attention. In the evening, with the palaces closing at dusk, the Pike was always crowded and attractions such as belly-dancing was quite popular.
Frederick Remington's statue "Cowboys Off the Trail" (also entitled- "Cowboys Shooting Up A Western Town,"), greeted fairgoers as they walked into the Pike's eastern entrance.
Plans were made to make The Pike permanent after the Exposition as well as adding a beach and a stadium, but Washington University cancelled them.
