The 1893 World’s Fair is the puported theme of three new food and drink establishments in downtown Chicago in September 2022.
Kinsley, a new restaurant and bar in the One North Wacker building, promises to evoke a “spirit of innovation and diversity, inspired by the ultimate Fairgrounds of old, the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and its gleaming White City.” The name comes from famed Chicago restaurateur Herbert M. Kinsley, who (according to the owners) was hired by architect Daniel Burnham to plan the restaurant landscape of the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition. While the interior design is bright and modern with a subtle reference to the Ferris Wheel in a circular wall mural, vintage images and artifacts from the Columbian Exposition decorate the space—including a treasure trove in the small hallway leading to the restrooms. Items on display include photographs of the Grand Basin and Movable Sidewalk, a vintage “Dream City” lithograph, fairgrounds map, a birds-eye-view fan, sheet music, exhibitor trade cards, a patent for Josephine Cochran’s dish-washing machine, a rental chair, a photograph of the H. J. Heinz exhibit in the Agricultural Building, and an elongated penny, and a photograph of the Ferris Wheel. The menu does not continue the theme, though does include a “White City Fair Dog.” Columbian Exposition enthusiasts will enjoy the décor.
The next two establishments fall short on their promise of the World’s Fair theme they touted at opening.
Vol. 39, has reopened inside the Kimpton the Gray hotel at 122 W. Monroe Street. Advance publicity promised that guests would “return to the year 1893 … and enjoy cocktails inspired by the largest and most successful World’s Fair to date” and that “a new cocktail menu that strives to replicate the massive exchange of ideas and cultures explored during this monumental event that showed the world that the city had risen from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire.” Those Columbian cocktails include a “Midway to Manzanilla” and a “Ferris Wheel Flight.” While the interior design oozes a classic atmosphere (mahogany bookshelves, marble table tops, cut-glass stemware), it lacks references to the Columbian Exposition.
In the nearby West Loop is Afterbar at 310 S. Canal St. The bar reportedly “feature cocktails with ingredients one might have seen during the 1890s, when Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition.” Beverage director Patrick McGoldrick told Block Club Chicago that “I’d like to do a riff on 20th century cocktails and kind of tied into the World’s Fair theme.” Afterbar’s current drink menu, however, offers only one vaguely named “Fly Me to the Fair” gin cocktail. The mid-century-modern decor is at odds with this Gilded Age inspiration, and 1933 World’s Fair postcard on their website dilutes the alleged theme further.
1893 World’s Fair fans looking for a bite or drink downtown should visit The Berghoff at 17 W. Adams St. for a classic German meal and a view of the fabulous dining room mural depicting the Exposition fairgrounds. Harry’s Sandwich Shop in the south end of the historic Monadnock Building at 336 S Dearborn St. features a collection of framed photographs of the White City. Atwood Restaurant at 1 West Washington St. is named after Columbian Exposition architect Charles Atwood, but the World’s Fair décor it once featured has been replaced. Nearby Hayden Hall, named after World’s Fair architect Sophia Hayden, opened in February 2020 but closed only a year later.
Finally, don’t miss the chance to have a drink at the Martini Bar in the lobby of the historic Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel at 163 East Walton Place. The view of the Palace of Fine Arts is amazing!
