Opening on July 14, 1853 with newly sworn President Franklin Pierce in attendance, the fair was seen by over 1.1 million visitors before it closed on November 14, 1854.

[4] Walt Whitman, an American poet, wrote "The Song of the Exposition": ... a Palace, Lofter, fairer, ampler than any yet, Earth's modern wonder, History's Seven out stripping, High rising tier on tier, with glass and iron facades, Gladdening the sun and sky - enhued in the cheerfulest hues, Bronze, lilac, robin's-egg, marine and crimson Over whose golden roof shall flaunt, beneath thy banner, Freedom.

Adjoining the Crystal Palace was the Latting Observatory, a wooden tower 315 feet (96 m) high, which allowed visitors to see into Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey.

The tower, taller than the spire of Trinity Church at 290 feet (88 m), was the tallest structure in New York City from the time it was constructed in 1853 until it burnt down on August 30, 1856.

[7] Today, the expo is also remembered as the place where Elisha Otis demonstrated an elevator equipped with a device called a safety, which would kick in if the hoisting rope broke.