User:Ducknish/Texas Cotton Palace
The Texas Cotton Palace was a venue in Waco, Texas used from 1895 to 1930 for an annual exhibition to showcase Texas cotton.
First Cotton Palace
The choice to establish a cotton exhibition in Waco was likely a result of Waco's role as one of the largest cotton markets in the region, with over 120,000 bales of cotton traded in the city in 1983.[1] The city's location near the Bosque and Brazos rivers gave it a fertile environment for cotton production.[2] Because of the importance of cotton production to the city, the citizens of Waco raised $40,000 to build an exhibition center, and in 1894, created plans for what would become the Texas Cotton Palace in Padgitt Park.[1][2] Construction was swift, and on November 8, 1894, the first Cotton Palace exhibition was opened by Texas governor James Stephen Hogg.[1] The building itself was short-lived and, on January 19, 1895, burned to the ground.[1][2]
Second Cotton Palace
Despite the popularity of the first Cotton Palace exhibition, a movement to rebuild the Cotton Palace did not occur for 15 years.[1] In 1910, the Young Man's Business League of Waco sold stock and raised over $100,000 to build a second, significantly expanded Cotton Palace, with Albert C. Clifton, YMBL president, also serving as president of the board of the directors for the new Cotton Palace.[1][2] The Cotton Palace's supporters purchased Padgitt Park from its namesake, Tom Padgitt, and expanded beyond the building itself to build a 10,000 seat arena, a racetrack, an auditorium, a zoo, carnival grounds, and a football field.[1] This second Cotton Palace lasted for 21 consecutive years of autumn exhibitions, with no interruption for World War I.[1][2] During this period, over eight million visitors attended the exhibitions.[1][2]
The exhibition over those 21 years included a wide variety of events, including parades, livestock shows, art exhibits, and, in 1918, mock battles and an air show involving 148 planes.[1] Every year the exhibition held the Queen's Ball, Waco's largest social event of the year.[1][2] The record daily attendance of 117,208 visitors was recorded on November 3, 1923.[1] On October 19, 1930, due to the pressures of the Great Depression, the Cotton Palace was forced to close for the final time.[1] The buildings no longer stand, but the cornerstone of the original Cotton Palace building is mounted at Lover's Leap in Cameron Park