The Chicago Maroon student newspaper has published a brief history of the Midway Plaisance that runs through the University of Chicago campus. Feifei Mei’s “From Mudway Nuisance to Midway Plaisance” explores the mile-long park (not owned by the University) from Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux’s original design and name, its use as the entertainment district for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, evolution in the hands of the Chicago Park District, and modern road safety issues.
A view west on the Midway Plaisance, with the Panorama of the Bernese Alps and Turkish Village on the left and the German Village on the right. [Image from Arnold, C. D.; Higinbotham, H. D. Official Views of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Press Chicago Photo-gravure Co., 1893.]