The Louisiana State 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. The building, adjoining that of the Government, was erected at a cost of $22,000, and was the exact size of the original, 95 by 107 feet, but was more than a relica, the actual doors and roof the old Spanish structure were removed and brought to St. Louis for the new Cabildo. The interior was ornamented with choice paintings, some of them old masters brought to America by Joseph Bonapart. There were 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 was a painting showing New Orleans as it was in 1803. In the collection of antique furniture in the building were two priceliss pieces, -- Napoleon's china-cabinet and the desk on which the treaty of 1803 was signed. Above the desk hung a facsimile of the great treaty that meant so much to the nation, and whose centennial anniversary the Exposition clebrated. The gardens in front of the Cabildo suggested the beautiful Jackson Square on which the original faces, and contained a reproduction of the famous heroic equestrian statue of General Jackson.

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