par worldfairs » 28 avr. 2024 09:38 am
- THE CABILDO OR LOUISIANA BUILDING
The State of Louisiana had contributed to the Exposition a building of much historical interest in its reproduction of the famous Cabildo, in which the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was consummated in 1803. This building, adjoining that of the Government, was erected at a cost of 822,000, and is of the exact size of the original, 95 by 107 feet, but it is more than a replica, the actual doors and roof of the picturesque old Spanish structure having been removed and brought to St. Louis for the new Cabildo. The interior is ornamented with choice paintings, some of them old masters brought to America by Joseph Bonaparte. There are portraits of Livingston, Monroe and Marbois, who signed the treaty between France and the United States, and of Jefferson, Napoleon, Salcedo, Laussat, Wilkinson and Claiborne; and there is a painting showing New Orleans as it was in 1803. In the collection of antique furniture in the building are two priceless pieces,—Napoleon’s china-cabinet and the desk on which the treaty of 1803 was signed. Above the desk hangs a fac simile of the great treaty that has meant so much to the nation, and whose centennial anniversary the Exposition celebrates. The gardens in front of the Cabildo suggest the beautiful Jackson Square on which the original faces, and contain a reproduction of the famous heroic equestrian statue of General Jackson.
[attachment=0]louisiana01.jpg[/attachment]
The State of Louisiana had contributed to the Exposition a building of much historical interest in its reproduction of the famous Cabildo, in which the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was consummated in 1803. This building, adjoining that of the Government, was erected at a cost of 822,000, and is of the exact size of the original, 95 by 107 feet, but it is more than a replica, the actual doors and roof of the picturesque old Spanish structure having been removed and brought to St. Louis for the new Cabildo. The interior is ornamented with choice paintings, some of them old masters brought to America by Joseph Bonaparte. There are portraits of Livingston, Monroe and Marbois, who signed the treaty between France and the United States, and of Jefferson, Napoleon, Salcedo, Laussat, Wilkinson and Claiborne; and there is a painting showing New Orleans as it was in 1803. In the collection of antique furniture in the building are two priceless pieces,—Napoleon’s china-cabinet and the desk on which the treaty of 1803 was signed. Above the desk hangs a fac simile of the great treaty that has meant so much to the nation, and whose centennial anniversary the Exposition celebrates. The gardens in front of the Cabildo suggest the beautiful Jackson Square on which the original faces, and contain a reproduction of the famous heroic equestrian statue of General Jackson.
