New Orleans 1885: Machinery Hall.....

Machinery Hall occupied the entire western portion of the massive Main Building at the New Orleans exposition. Covering an area of approximately ten acres, Machinery Hall contained innumerable displays of various types of light and heavy machinery, in addition to items such as wheels, pulleys, cogs, drill bits, knives, hammers, bolts, screws, nails, rope, wire, pipes, and cables. Vast arrays of railroad locomotives, and other steam-powered apparatus, were also on exhibit. The Edison Electric Company constructed the world's largest isolated incandescent lighting plant, dubbed "Fort Edison", which supplied the power necessary to operate the thousands of Edison electric lightbulbs used within structures throughout the exposition grounds. At the center of Machinery Hall, situated on a large brick platform, thirty-two different types of steam engines were in constant operation. Operated by steam produced in the adjacent Boiler House, these mammoth engines provided power to all the machinery located throughout the hall. At the north end of Machinery Hall was located a large water-tank, for the demonstration of various types of pumping equipment. In the immediate vicinity of the water tank were located the cold-storage warehouses, where numerous fruits, vegetables, flowers, and dairy products were kept fresh and ready for display. The cold-storage plant was capable of producing five tons of ice per day, made available for the numerous restaurants and lunch-stands on the grounds. Immense as Machinery Hall was, it was soon found to be incapable of housing all the intended exhibits, so two separate annexes were constructed. The 570-foot long Factories and Mills Building, located immediately south of the Main Building, contained displays of heavy machinery used in the iron manufacturing and milling industries. Additionally, west of the Factories and Mills Building, was located the long and narrow Saw Mill & Woodworking Machinery Building, containing various forms of machinery used in the lumber finishing industries.