The November 2018 Trivia Question
Which of the Great Buildings in the White City featured a ring of ornamental turkey sculptures on its roof?
A. the Transportation Building
B. the Agricultural Building
C. the U.S. Government Building
D. the Palace of Poultry
The answer is B. A ring of turkeys decorated the dome of the Agricultural Building, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White. Many Americans thought that the turkey, not the bald eagle, should have been our national emblem.
The dome of the Agricultural Building. [Image from The Art of the World Illustrated in the Paintings, Statuary, and Architecture of the World’s Columbian Exposition by Ripley Hitchcock (D. Appleton, 1895).]