committee decided to host another Expo-type event, which became the Great American Exposition in summer 1899. Construction Many temporary buildings, structures, and features were installed for the Exposition. Thomas Rogers Kimball and C. Howard Walker were named co-architects-in-chief for the event. The two men were responsible for the overall site development, including perimeter buildings. They designed several major buildings, some smaller structures and the Arch of States, which was a main entrance. All these structures were temporary by design, built at about half the cost of permanent buildings. The lower cost allowed the construction of larger structures. The construction of the hundreds of temporary buildings at the Expo was notable because of the almost exclusive usage of a new, cheap and pliable building material called staff. It allowed Expo designers to construct visual reproductions of Grecian and Roman temples, fine European buildings, and more. The buildings were constructed of strips of wood covered with staff. The Grand Court of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition was located on the current site of Kountze Park. Commemoration The Post Office Department issued a series of nine postage stamps to mark the Exposition, each depicting a Western scene. Now known as the Trans-Mississippi Issue and considered among the finest stamps produced by the US, they are highly prized by collectors; a complete unused set is worth about US$5,000. The stamps were reissued in 1998 for a limited time. A monument to the exposition was placed in Omaha's Kountze Park, the former site of the exposition, during a Centennial celebration of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in 1998. See also Richard Bock - World-famous sculptor who designed several buildings at the Expo. References External links Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition University of Nebraska-Lincoln's collected Digital Archive on the event Trans Mississippi & International Exposition The Omaha Public Library's Page on the Exposition Trans-Mississippi Exposition Omaha, Nebraska, 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition Omaha, Nebraska, 1898 World's fairs in the United States History of North Omaha, Nebraska 1898 in Nebraska 1898 festivals American frontier Culture of Omaha, Nebraska