Located just inside the City Gate, Centennial Plaza is a tribute to the 1884 New Orleans Cotton Exposition and a time when Cotton was King and New Orleans was the Queen City of the South.

Set like gems along tranquil Centennial Lagoon are seven seemingly random pavilions, but when they are viewed from the proper perspective, they "snap" into position to form the gracious Main Hall of the 1884 Cotton Exposition. During its day, the Main Hall was the largest building in the world.

Framing the lagoon is the delicately detailed Empress Walk, a covered timber promenade reminiscent of the ancient Summer Palaces of Peking. Alongside the lagoon is the century-old carousel, and the Frey Gazebo, a shady spot devoted to gentler times and barbershop quartets, tea dances, and park bands. Further on is one of three designs selected in the International Water Sculpture Competition, "The Source;" created by Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne of France.

Presiding over the Plaza is the Petroleum Industries Pavilion, an actual offshore oil rig that features a 50,000 gallon salt water aquarium alive with aquatic flora, fish, and deep sea divers.

The double domes nearby house the American Electrical Energy Exhibit, "Rivers of Electricity;' where robots direct you through the tunnel of progress and into a 200 seat theater.

It is in Centennial Plaza that the City of New Orleans has its exhibit, "Rain;" and the tower of the MART Gondola rises majestically and begins its climb 380 feet in the air, whisking passengers across the Mississippi River in just minutes. Here, too, is one of three Monorail Stations, where you can board a sleek train and get a swift overview of the entire Fair site.

Throughout this, and every neighborhood, are food and beverage concessions offering everything from Creole gumbo and spicy fried chicken to frozen drinks and ice cold sno-balls. Shop the neighborhoods of the Fair and the world, and select souvenirs and merchandise from Pakistan, China, Korea, Hawaii, France, and many other places.