October 9, 1893, was “the greatest gathering in history” and the “grandest spectacle in modern times.” Chicago Day at the 1893 World’s Fair shattered all previous attendance records with 713,646 paid admissions to the Fair and over three-quarters of a million of people inside the gates of the White City.

The event commemorated the night of October 9, 1871, when the Great Fire ripped through downtown Chicago. Having risen from the ashes and rebuilt, Chicago served as host to the world’s biggest event twenty-three years later. The day of celebration featured speeches, ringing of the Liberty Bell, concerts, parades, and fireworks.

This description of Chicago Day comes from Campbell’s Illustrated History of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Volume II (N. Juul & Co. 1894).

CHICAGO DAY, OCTOBER 9, 1893

When future generations are studying the history of the United States they will find several pages devoted to a great universal Exposition that was held in the later part of the nineteenth century in what will at that time be the metropolis of the world, Chicago, U.S.A. As they read of the interest and enthusiasm with which the people of that time were filled and the assistance they gave to the enterprise, they will marvel at such a gigantic undertaking being planned and carried out by what was then a comparatively young city.

The attendance during the whole period of the Exposition will cause them to wonder where so many people came from at that time. But when they reach the figures for October 9, “Chicago Day,” they will be tempted to doubt the truth of the historian’s statement. Could it be possible that 754,000 were assembled together to celebrate a peaceful event?

To those who live in this generation and who were a part of that vast crowd it was a reality. The day was one long to be remembered. From Nature’s standpoint it was perfect. The people came from far and near, all intent on making the day set apart by the greatest city on this continent as its special day, one of the greatest in the history of the Exposition, in point of numbers.

The exercises and program of the day cut a comparatively small figure. It is true there was a program, but thousands of people in attendance knew it only by seeing the announcement of it in the papers beforehand and an account of what was done the day after in the same papers. All the avenues inside of Jackson Park were filled from seven o’clock in the morning until far into the night. As a day for sightseeing it was not a success, from the simple fact that one could not get anywhere near what he might wish to see and be allowed to remain long enough to more than get a glimpse of the attraction.

The program for the day as carried out, would have been very interesting on any day but that particular day. Not that it was not successfully carried out, but the crowds were so large that it was impossible for any kind of exercises to be conducted with any degree of success. The greatest attraction was the display of fireworks and the fountains in the evening. The parade of floats was a disappointment, from the fact that there was no regularity in conducting it. When people are compelled to wait from fifteen minutes to half an hour between floats in a procession of that kind they lose all interest. The float presented by the Board of Trade was very fine. Had the fiery dragon* of the General Electric company been in line with the rest it would have added to the display, but coming trailing along half an hour behind, when a large number of people concluded the parade was all over, it presented a lonely appearance.

Some idea of the number of people in the city may be obtained from the report of the passengers carried by the different transportation lines. The South Side cable carried 757,660, the Illinois Central, 736,329, the North and West Side cables, 765,612, and the Alley “L” road, 294,986, making a total of 2,556,000 in round numbers. These figures do not represent but a fraction of the people in the city.

* The “fiery dragon” refers to “Elestra, the genius of electricity” float. For an image, see the answer to our October 2018 Trivia Question.

Photographic Scene on Administration Plaza, World’s Fair, during the Parade on “Chicago Day,” October 9, 1893. [Image from Campbell’s Illustrated History of the World’s Columbian Exposition Vol. II (Juul, 1894) p. 50.]