“It was something gorgeous and deafening while it lasted, and it lasted an hour. At one time the lake shore for half a mile was fringed with intense magnesium fires, which threw a white, unnatural light over the dense, immovable thousands. When the people looked at the fires the press of humanity had a dark, somber shade. When a rocket went up and the faces were lifted, a sudden pallor spread itself over the great area, a weird transformation, seen only by those who looked down from the lofty rail of the peristyle. Chicago has seen fireworks before, but never anything like those of the Fourth.” from “American Day at the Fair” in World’s Fair. Being a Pictorial History of the Columbian Exposition. P.D. Farrell, 1893.

Happy Fourth of July to our readers!