The Newberry Library in Chicago will offer a one-day seminar on the 1893 World’s Fair on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Parks historian and preservationist Julia Bachrach will lead the Newberry Adult Education Seminar “Designed the Dazzle and Delight: Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” from 6–8 pm online using Zoom.

In 1890, when Congress awarded Chicago the honor of hosting the next World’s Fair, civic leaders and exposition designers had a daunting task ahead of them. After a 600-acre windswept lakefront site was identified, it had to be transformed into magnificent fairgrounds, and fast. This seminar explores the fascinating making of the fairgrounds for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, including the challenges faced by lead architects Daniel H. Burnham, John W. Root, and Charles Atwood, and landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Henry Codman.

Tuition for the session is $50 ($45 for associate members, seniors, and students), and registration is available at https://www.newberry.org/S21WorldsFair.