The New Student's Reference Work/Portland Exposition, The

Portland Ex′posi′tion, The, an international exposition held in Portland, Oregon, from June 1st to October 15th, 1905, to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the exploration of the northwest by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The exposition derived its name from the city, the official title in full being The Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair. It also is frequently referred to as the Lewis and Clark Exposition. The exposition was intended to tell the story, as the official title indicates, of the exploration and heroic achievement of a hundred years ago; of the development in a new-found land that gained the United States its western coast; and of the extension of American trade with the orient. As originally planned, only an exposition local to the northwest was contemplated; but, as the interest of the whole country became manifest, the scope of the undertaking broadened until it reached the proportions of an international exposition of the first rank. It was the first exposition of the kind ever held west of the Rocky Mountains. In natural beauty of setting it is considered by many to have surpassed all others. The national government contributed $470,000 in addition to contributing an exhibit, already prepared at a cost of more than $300,000; and nearly all foreign nations were well-represented. The unique feature was the Forestry Building, constructed entirely of logs of gigantic dimensions.