December 8 is a full day for Columbian Exposition enthusiasts in Chicago! If you don’t already plan to attend the World’s Fair symposium at the Newberry Library or the talk on the White City at the Bezazian Library, you can check out the 125th anniversary celebration at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC).

To celebrate their anniversary, the AIC invites everyone to join in a recreation of this 1893 opening day photo from their archives. Just meet at the Michigan Avenue front steps of the museum, between the Edward Kemeys‘ iconic lions, “On the prowl” and “Stands in an attitude of defiance.”

Opening day of the new Art Institute of Chicago building, December 8, 1893. [Image from the Art Institute of Chicago archives.]

From noon to 1 pm will be a Gallery Talk on the 125th Anniversary of the Michigan Avenue Building, which was constructed for the 1893 World’s Fair as the World’s Congress Auxiliary Building and housed the World’s Congresses during the run of the Fair. On December 8, 1893, the building officially opened as the new home of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The talk will be held in Gallery 100 and is free with museum admission.