The National Association for Olmsted Parks has posted a fascinating look at "Olmsted’s Three Visions for Jackson Park" by Julia Bachrach. She explores the designs by Frederick Law Olmsted for South Park in 1871, the fairgrounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and return of Jackson Park in 1895. Construction in 1891 of the fairgrounds for the 1893 World's Fair.
"At 2.3 million copies, this may be the best selling book ever written about Chicago," reports Chicago Magazine. Making their list of The 10 Best 21st Century Chicago Nonfiction Books, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (2003) is Erik Larson's "intertwined biographies of Chicago’s greatest builder and its greatest destroyer." This captivating narrative nonfiction account of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (and parallel profile of "serial killer" H.H. Holmes) [...]
The pair of lion sculptures by Edward Kemeys that stand in front of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) are not cast from sculptures at the 1893 World’s Fair. This misinformation, which appears to have originated in the late 1980s, now permeates descriptions of these iconic Chicago mascots in institutional, popular, and scholarly sources. A set of sixteen lion sculptures stood at the entrances to the Palace of Fine Arts at the World’s Columbian Exposition (WCE), and numerous contemporary sources credit their authorship to A. Phimister Proctor and Theodore Baur (not Kemeys). More importantly, the designs of Kemeys’ AIC lions clearly do not match any of the WCE lions.
The pair of lion sculptures by Edward Kemeys that stand in front of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) are not cast from sculptures at the 1893 World’s Fair. This misinformation, which appears to have originated in the late 1980s, now permeates descriptions of these iconic Chicago mascots in institutional, popular, and scholarly sources. A set of sixteen lion sculptures stood at the entrances to the Palace of Fine Arts at the World’s Columbian Exposition (WCE), and numerous contemporary sources credit their authorship to A. Phimister Proctor and Theodore Baur (not Kemeys). More importantly, the designs of Kemeys’ AIC lions clearly do not match any of the WCE lions.
Who was Samuel A. Dow? How did he get to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago from his home in North Hampton, New Hampshire? Which buildings did he visit on the fairgrounds? What site did he describe as "very beautiful beyond description"? The North Hampton Historical Society shares a summary of his diary in "Mr Dow Goes to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair." The New Hampshire State Building. [Image from Arnold, C. D.; Higinbotham, H. D. World's Columbian Exposition: [...]
The award-winning Next restaurant in Chicago’s West Loop explores gourmet cuisine with menus and dining experiences that change completely a few times a year. Their Spring 2022 epicurean offering is a World’s Fair menu that explores the world of impossible innovations. “Light bulbs and Ferris wheels. Confidence and gumption—the pillars to the global ingenuity of 1893.” For a visual sampling, check out their video. Next (953 W. Fulton Market in Chicago) offers prix fixe meals ($165–$275 per person) by [...]
April 26, 2022, marks the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, social reformer and visionary founder of American landscape architecture. In June, the Olmsted 200 celebration reaches Chicago with a Olmsted Bicentennial Gala from 7– 9 PM on Friday, June 17, at the Glessner House (1800 S Prairie Ave. in Chicago). On Saturday, June 18, at 10 AM, an "Inspired by Olmsted" carillon concert at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel (5850 S. Woodlawn Avenue in Chicago) and the [...]
Deadline’s recent interview with Jordan Helman, head of scripted content at Hulu, revealed a few tantalizing tidbits about the streaming service’s project, The Devil in the White City. He confirms that Sam Shaw is the showrunner, working “within a small army of producers.” Previous reports have this production team including Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Emma Koskoff, Jennifer Davisson, Rick Yorn, and Stacey Sher. Helman also confirms that sitting in the director’s chair will be Todd Field, whom he describes [...]
Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted—landscape architect, author, conservationist, and social activist. His ambitious designs transformed Jackson Park in Chicago into the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The excerpt below, from the November 1, 1893, issue of the Chicago Inter Ocean newspaper, is quick to credit the many important architects who together designed the fairgrounds. From Olmsted’s seminal vision, though, emerged the Dream City on Lake Michigan. [The article [...]
Experience the murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America on a 4-hour bus tour offered by the Chicago History Museum on Saturday, June 25, 2022. Inspired by Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries), this tour will take you back to 1893 with historian Al Walavich, to follow the trails of Daniel Burnham and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. Visit the historic fairgrounds, the Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, and discover what has [...]
