{{Short description|Exhibition ground in Waco, Texas, US}} {{Use American English|date = December 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = December 2019}} {{Infobox venue | name = Texas Cotton Palace | nickname = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | fullname = | former_names = | logo_image = | logo_caption = | image = frameless|A postcard depicting the Cotton Palace | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = A postcard depicting the Cotton Palace | pushpin_map = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_label_position = | iso_region = | address = | location = | coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LON|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} --> | type = | event = | broke_ground = | built = | opened = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} --> | renovated = | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | owner = | operator = | surface = | scoreboard = | production = | cost = | architect = | project_manager = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | general_contractor = | main_contractors = | seating_type = | capacity = | suites = | record_attendance = 117,208 | dimensions = | field_shape = | acreage = | volume = }} thumb|A post card of the Cotton Palace grounds from the Baylor University Texas Collection The '''Cotton Palace''' was an exhibition ground in the area of Clay Avenue, Dutton Avenue and South Sixteenth Street in Waco, Texas, from 1895 to 1930. It was built to highlight cotton-growing activities in the area.
==First Cotton Palace== The choice to establish a cotton exhibition in Waco was likely a result of Waco's role as one of the largest cotton markets in the region, with over 120,000 bales of cotton traded in the city in 1883.<ref name=txcol>[https://baylorarchives.cuadra.com/cgi-bin/starfetch.exe?HSOXd@WsvOhmkapRCA8hdEbwo4bEpky.BRcHNPLPklGmkBYt6jeNS3dhPK@tZS5IIeVKScw8tPEItBmm7ff9MlozzZTlGDuF51mT.qE2yfA/0000q2.xml Texas Cotton Palace Records] Accession #792, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.</ref> The city's location near the Bosque and Brazos rivers gave it a fertile environment for cotton production.<ref name=handbook>{{cite web|last1=Conger|first1=Roger|title=Cotton Palace|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lbc02|website=The Handbook of Texas|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=21 April 2015}}</ref>
Following a campaign where Waco residents raised $40,000 to build the facility,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baylor.edu/oralhistory/index.php?id=931739|title=Texas Cotton Palace|last=Bird|first=Prisca|website=Baylor Institute for Oral History|publisher=Baylor University|access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref> plans were drawn up in 1894 for the Texas Cotton Palace in Padgitt Park.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook /> Construction was swift, and on November 8, 1894, the first Cotton Palace exhibition was opened by Texas governor James Hogg, which began a month of festivities.<ref name=txcol /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hadleycourt.com/wacos-cotton-palace-texas-family-tradition/|title=Waco's Cotton Palace – A Texas Family Tradition|last=Callaghan|first=Shuana|website=Hadley Court|date=April 26, 2014 |access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref> The building itself was short-lived and, on January 19, 1895, burned to the ground.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook />
==Second Cotton Palace== Despite the popularity of the first Cotton Palace exhibition, a movement to rebuild the Cotton Palace did not occur for 15 years.<ref name=txcol /> In 1910, the Young Man's Business League of Waco sold stock and raised over $100,000 to build a second, significantly expanded, Cotton Palace, with Albert C. Clifton, YMBL president, also serving as president of the board of the directors for the new Cotton Palace.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook /> The Cotton Palace's supporters purchased Padgitt Park from its namesake, Tom Padgitt, and expanded beyond the building itself to build a 10,000-seat arena, a racetrack, an auditorium, a zoo, carnival grounds, and a football field.<ref name=txcol /> This second Cotton Palace lasted for 21 consecutive years of autumn exhibitions, with no interruption for World War I.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook /> During this period, over eight million visitors attended the exhibitions.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lbc02|title="Cotton Palace"|last=Conger|first=Roger|date=June 12, 2010|website=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=January 7, 2017}}</ref>
The exhibition over those 21 years included a wide variety of events, including parades, livestock shows, art exhibits, and, in 1918, mock battles and an air show involving 148 planes.<ref name=txcol /> Every year the exhibition held the Queen's Ball, Waco's largest social event of the year.<ref name=txcol /><ref name=handbook /> The record daily attendance of 117,208 visitors was recorded on November 3, 1923.<ref name=txcol />
The exposition closed permanently on October 19, 1930, due to the decline of the cotton market as well as the Great Depression.<ref name=txcol /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wacohistory.org/items/show/15|title=The Texas Cotton Palace|last=Stingley|first=Jim|website=Waco History|publisher=Baylor University|access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref>
After years in disrepair, the buildings were demolished. The City of Waco sold the material for $10,265 to Morrow Wrecking, who on Monday, February 8, 1943, razed the buildings, dug out the foundations, graded the ground and hauled the scrap away.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Glamorous Memories Are Homeless When Exposition is Razed|date=February 7, 1943|work=Waco Tribune-Herald}}</ref> The only remaining structure was the stage area from the coliseum, which served as the changing rooms for the Sun Pool. The structure was destroyed in the devastating tornado that struck downtown Waco on May 11, 1953, killing two lifeguards that were sheltering in the underground locker rooms.
The cornerstone of the original Cotton Palace building is mounted at Lover's Leap in Waco's Cameron Park.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Convention centers in Texas Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Texas Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1943