The Fair was due to be opened in 1903, the centenary of the Louisiana Purchase, but it ran behind schedule and was delayed until the following year. President Roosevelt opened the fair from Washington, on April 30th 1904 using the same telegraph key with which President Cleveland had opened the Columbian World's Fair in 1893. The President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company was David R. Francis, a key figure in St. Louis life, socially, politically and in business. After the Fair he was the American Ambassador to Russia from 1916 to 1918.

Of course the Fair was never intended to last forever. The stately structures it comprised were dismantled, and 25 cents was charged for people to watch the demolition. Today, despite the cultural and institutional trappings of a major city, St. Louis is essentially a town of small neighborhoods. Around the Washington University campus, Forest Park's 1,300 beautifully landscaped acres still hold a number of buildings that date back to the 1904 World's Fair, now housing a fine art museum, a history museum and a science museum.

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