Social Victorians/1887 American Exhibition/Wild West Moved to Earl's Court

The "Wild West" Leaves London, Arrives in West Kensington and Sets Up in Earl's Court.

Logistics

• 18 April 1887

Related Events

• The American Exhibition, which opened on 6 May 1887

Prior Events

• The "Wild West" company arrives in London.

Later Events

• The Gladstones visit the Wild West, 28 April 1887, with Gower and possibly 8 or so others.

The Event Itself

The "Wild West" Moves to Earl's Court, 18 April 1887

To Victoria Station, to West Kensington and Then to the Exhibition Grounds The cast and company of the "Wild West" show boarded a train and arrived at Victoria Station an hour after arriving in London on the State of Nebraska, then went to West Kensington by underground railway (Cody 709).

Cody describes the site of the Exhibition itself

<quote>After brief social converse, and a tranquilizing smoke, we made a casual visit to the grounds, where the preparations for the stabling, the arena and the grand stand, with busy hundreds of workmen hastening their completions by night by the aid of lucigen lights and bon-fires, presented an animated scene, and a display of energy rarely witnessed in connection with an amusement enterprise. These operations were dealing with the expenditure of $125,000, including the fencing in of an arena more than a third of a mile in circumference, flanked by a grand stand filled with seats and boxes, estimated to accommodate 20,000 persons. Sheltered stands for 10,000 more were also being erected; it being understood that room for 40,000 spectators in all should be provided at each performance. For the Indian encampment a large hill had been thrown up by spare labor, and this was already decorated by a grove of newly planted trees. The stables for horses, mules and mustangs, and the corrals for buffaloes, antelope, elk, etc., were all in simultaneous course of construction. Everything so far impressed me very favorably and I began to feel that if we did not command success we would, with our advantages of location, surroundings and novelty and realism, at least deserve it.</quote> (Autobiography 709-710)

The "Wild West" Begins Setup in Earl's Court

The set-up of the show occurred in public, and people could watch as the cast arrived and the sets were assembled (Wernitznig 75).

Bibliography

• Cody. Autobiography.
• Wernitznig