Eepoet of Boaed of General Managers. 147 



Closing of the Exposition. 



The fair closed quietly and without ceremony on October thirtieth. 

 It had been the intention of the management to make a special gala 

 day of it, but the sudden death of Mayor Harrison rendered it inappro- 

 priate. The work of removal and demolition began at once and the 

 treasures of art, industry and science, with the busy throng of attend- 

 ants, disappeared to the four quarters of the globe. 



On October thirty-first the Board of General Managers held a meet- 

 ing at the New York State Building in reference to the disposition of 

 exhibits and property under its control. It was voted that all exhibits, 

 and furniture pertaining thereto, made in the following departments 

 under the auspices of the board, should be returned to the State Capitol 

 at Albany, be stored in the rooms intended for the use of the State 

 Museum and be held there subject to the order of the board. The 

 departments so designated were : Agriculture, horticulture, mines and 

 mining, transportation, liberal arts, forestry and anthropology. The 

 chief executive officer, Senator Foley, was empowered to dispose of the 

 furniture and perishable exhibits and to superintend the repacking and 

 removal of exhibits. 



The disposition of the New York State Building was a subject of 

 some solicitude. It was hoped that this beautiful structure might be 

 spared the fate of the other buildings and remain a permanent monu- 

 ment to New York's presence and interest in the fair. For this reason 

 the Board of General Managers were willing to entertain any proposi- 

 tion tending to this result. The Chicago Naval Academy made a pro- 

 posal for the removal and occupancy of the building, but as the major 

 part of the heavy cost of removal would have fallen on the board the 

 latter did not feel justified in accepting. Furthermore, the building 

 would have lost much of its significance in a strange environment away 

 from the scenes which had rendered it famous. 



On September sixth, at the reception given by the Sons of New 

 York in the State building. Governor Flower formally offered on behalf 

 of the Board of General Managers to convey the structure, to Mrs. 

 Potter Palmer and Mr. Harlow N. Higinbotham, of Chicago, and Mrs. ' 

 Leslie Pell-Clarke, of New York, as trustees of a museum or repository 

 representative of women's industries in the city of Chicago and pro- 

 motive thereof. Mrs. Palmer in a few words gracefully accepted the 

 trust for herself and her co-trustees. This action was eminently satis- 



