Palace of Electricity
 Palace of Electricity | |
| Construction Cost | $412,948 (equivalent to $12,454,206 in 2021) |
|---|---|
Opposite the Palace of Education and across the Grand Basin sat the Palace of Electricity. The 525 x 750 foot structure was designed by Walker and Kimball of Boston and Omaha.
Surrounded by the lagoon, The Palace was reached by six bridges that connected it with the main avenues. The broken line of eaves produced a lightning effect when the building was illuminated by electricity. Atop of the 9.1 acre structure, six pyramidic towers topped by a four foot star were adorned by copies of the sculpture of `Light Overcomes darkness' and below them sculptures with a lightning and aurora theme all created by Bela Pratt.
Most of the Palace of Electricity was composed of machines that generated or used electricity. Run on tracks from a western bay, a massive powerful traveling crane was used to install and move machinery to and fro.
In the palace, lamps of every kind, and incandescent lights of every size and color were shown. Nernst and Cooper-Hewitt vapor arc lamps were featured in the Palace of Electricity. These lamps emit an intense white light. Every building and many of the fountains, and fountains were dramatically lit with light globes. Fairgoers, the majority still using oil, gas or candles in their households, were awe-stuck at the spectacular evening illumination of this still-new marvel, electricity.
Machinery including motor-generators, transformers, rotary converters, rheostats and regulators of every type demonstrated their various functions. Outside the Palace, there was a 1400 foot long street railway double testing track, which displayed and tested speed, acceleration and braking.
The Edison Incandescent Globe Museum, presented by one of the most popular and recognizable men in the United States, Thomas Alva Edison, showcased every type of lamp devised by the great inventor, including his first incandescent lamp from 1878. Quite popular to fairgoers was Edison's Kinetoscope. Created by William Kennedy & Laurie Dickson of Edison labs, this was an early motion picture exhibition device. The Edison exhibit also included the first electronic train (patented by the inventor in 1880), and a 500 pound steel-nickel storage battery for automobiles. Edison visited the Fair often to be sure that the exhibit was properly presented.
One of the most popular and amazing exhibits to the fairgoers at this period in time were the wireless telegraph and telephone exhibits. Invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895, the fair housed the largest wireless telegraph station ever constructed (The [[American Deforest Tower]). Visitors could send messages by the wireless system between different stations in the fairgrounds, and to other cities having the same stations. The DeForest Company also showcased their wireless telegraph automobiles in the palace of electricity as well as the Palace of Transportation. They were successful in sending stock quotations from the New York Stock Exchange to the brokers' offices nearby.
As a joint project, AT&T and general Electric demonstrated a `radiophone.' The Radiophone exhibit, showcased the transmission of sound over a beam of light.
There was also practical demonstrations of electro-therapeutics, electro-magnetism, electro-chemistry, electric lighting, heating and cooking.
Germany showed the development of chemistry in the past 250 years.
The Holophane Glass Company displayed reflectors and prismatic equipment.
Westinghouse showed the first moving pictures showing their factory plant in operation.
General Electric, a new mercury arc reflector that transformed alternating current to direct current.
AT&T displayed a switchboard that could handle up to 9,600 lines. The company also provided free working telephones throughout the Fair for visitors to use (a marvel as most households did not have one).
