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| Southern Exposition | |
|---|---|
 Portion of poster for 1884 Southern Exposition | |
| Overview | |
| BIE-class | Unrecognized exposition |
| Name | Southern Exposition |
| Area | 45 acres (180,000 m2) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| City | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Venue | Louisville'sOld Louisville neighborhood. |
TheSouthern Exposition was a five-year series ofworld's fairs held inLouisville, Kentucky, from 1883 to 1887 in what became Louisville'sOld Louisville neighborhood. The exposition, held for 100 days each year on 45 acres (180,000 m2) immediately south ofCentral Park in what became theSt. James–Belgravia Historic District, was essentially an industrial and mercantile show. At the time, the exposition was larger than any previous American exhibition with the exception of theCentennial Exposition inPhiladelphia in 1876.U.S. PresidentChester A. Arthur opened the first annual exposition on August 1, 1883.
One highlight of the show was the largest installation yet, ofincandescent light bulbs, recently invented byThomas Edison (a resident of Louisville sixteen years earlier), to bring light to the exposition in the nighttime. The contract with the Louisville Board of Trade was for 5,000 incandescent lamps, 4,600 lamps for the exhibition hall and 400 for an art gallery. More than all the lamps installed inNew York City at the time were used.
George H. Yater writes in his bookTwo Hundred Years at the Fall of the Ohio:
The Exposition was the first large space lighted by incandescence and many electrical pioneers felt that the Louisville success did more to stimulate the growth of interior electric lighting than any other Edison plant.
