THE PROMENADE AND BEACH.—Without the famous Promenade along the shore of Lake Michigan, the Columbian Exposition would have lacked one of its attractive features. The great body of blue water, over which came cooling breezes in the hottest days of midsummer, rested the eye after the visitor had become sated, if that were possible, with the glories of the Fair, and the Promenade and Beach afforded a pleasant walking or lounging place, as the case might be. The shadows cast in the photograph from which the accompanying excellent illustration is taken show that the hour was about one o’clock in the afternoon, but, a little later, the great intervening structures to the westward must have hidden the sun, and then followed, of course, the daily afternoon drift of a multitude to the area where bodily comfort was assured. The expanse of stone between the Walk and the Lake was a favorite idling place late in the day, and there many a group and couple sat and watched the plashing of the waters and the passing sailing craft and steamers, and enjoyed the breeze which rarely failed. The Promenade and Beach were of Chicago’s special exhibits at the Fair, as showing the benefits of a location on the shores of one of the greatest inland seas of the world. In the illustration a view is afforded on the right of Victoria House, the headquarters of the British Commissioners, and, on the left, of the Canadian Building, the United States military encampment, the Life-saving Station and other notable structures, with the so-called Clam Bake and Banquet Hall as a background.

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