Architectural Digest recently took a look “back at some of the most innovative architecture built for expositions around the globe.” In his article “The 20 Boldest Buildings in the History of the World’s Fair,” Niki Mafi lists the Art Institute of Chicago at #5, behind the Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1889), the Grand Palais (Paris,. 1900), the Royal Exhibition Building (Melbourne, 1880), and the Arc de Triomf (Barcelona, 1888).

The classical Beaux-Arts building designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston is sometimes forgotten as being part of the 1893 World’s Fair. Located on Michigan Avenue in the Chicago Loop, the structure was built in 1893 to serve as the World’s Congress Auxiliary Building before becoming home to the Art Institute immediately after the Columbian Exposition closed at the end of October 1893. The iconic pair of bronze lion sculptures now flanking the main entrance of the Art Institute (“on the prowl”  on the north and “stands in an attitude of defiance” at the south) are by sculptor Edward Kemeys, whose animal sculptures graced the Court of Honor on the fairgrounds.