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Final Jeopardy

We've been devoted Jeopardy fans in recent weeks, due to the incredible winning streak of Amy Schneider. The episode that aired on January 24, 2022, included an extra treat: a final Jeopardy about the 1893 World's Fair: The answer question, of course, is "What is the Field Museum?" (then called the Field Columbian Museum), named for benefactor Marshall Field. Although defending champion Amy Schneider bet big but did not come up with the correct question, contestant Joanne Mercer did [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:10:06-05:00January 24th, 2022|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , |1 Comment

“The eighth wonder of the world” Gilded Age author Charles Dudley Warner extols the 1893 World’s Fair

“The bigger Chicago is, the more important this world becomes.” —Charles Dudley Warner American essayist and novelist Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) is perhaps best remembered as the co-author with Mark Twain of The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Their 1873 novel satirizes the greed and political corruption endemic in the United States after the Civil War. The “Gilded Age” moniker eventually came to describe the era of excess and deception in late-nineteenth-century America. The pinnacle of Gilded Age [...]

By |2022-01-24T06:08:30-06:00January 24th, 2022|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Jan. 28-Nov. 1, 2022: “No Compact of Silence” exhibit (Indianapolis)

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis has a new special exhibit highlighting national and local Black civil rights activists during President Benjamin Harrison’s term in office (1889–1893). “No ‘Compact of Silence’: Black Civil Rights Advocates in the Harrison Era” explores the complex dynamics of race in late 19th century America, including the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Prominent individuals who will be featured include Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells. April 1890, President Harrison officially signed an [...]

By |2022-11-11T09:05:02-06:00January 17th, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Which of the 6 Everyday Inventions Debuted at 1893 World’s Fair?

Do you know which of these “6 Everyday Inventions That Debuted at World's Fairs," from a list assembled by History.com, are from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition? 1. telephone 2. zipper 3. dishwasher 4. electrical plug and socket 5. television 6. touchscreens Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913) of Shelbyville, IL, is credited with inventing the dishwashing machine, which she exhibited in the Inventions Room of the Woman’s Building. Whitcomb L. Judson is widely recognized as the inventor of the zipper, which [...]

By |2023-12-05T15:44:48-06:00January 16th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments

Bancroft’s “Book of the Fair”

High school history teacher Michael Skomba writes in “Go West! Then Back to the Future” (Smithsonian Magazine blog January 14, 2022) about his exploration of one of the most popular and enduring historical narratives of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The Book of the Fair by Hubert Howe Bancroft, published in numerous editions, was “algorithmically perfected to maximize the market for an expensive work,” according to Bancroft scholar Dr. Travis Ross of Yale University. Skomba finds Bancroft’s history of the [...]

By |2022-01-15T08:20:32-06:00January 15th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments

Sept. 24, 2021: “Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright” (Chicago)

An exhibit at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago explores two lost architectural masterworks: the Garrick Theatre Building in Chicago designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Building in Buffalo. Curated by John Vinci, Tim Samuelson, Eric Nordstrom, Chris Ware and Jonathan D. Katz, “Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright” uses fragments, drawings, photography, and narrative to elucidate the life and death of these two iconic buildings. The first section of the [...]

Will Keanu Reeves be the Devil in the White City?

“I believe our adventure through time has taken a most serious turn.” Deadline and other news outlets are reporting that Keanu Reeves (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures, The Matrix) is in talks to star in The Devil in the White City limited series being produced for Hulu. The show will be an adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling 2003 non-fiction book that interweaves the true stories of renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham struggling to build the 1893 World’s Columbian [...]

By |2022-01-10T06:04:58-06:00January 10th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |2 Comments

Jan. 28, 2022: “Innovations at the 1893 World’s Fair” (online)

Chicago Detours invites guests to explore “Innovations at the 1893 World's Fair” on January 28, 2022, at 7 pm. Through a virtual visit (via Zoom) to the World's Columbian Exposition, attendees will delve into the inventions, engineering feats, and gastronomical exhibits that wowed visitors to Chicago's most esteemed event. During this one-hour tour, you will see interior photos of the jaw-dropping sights like the Electricity Hall and the Manufacturers Building, hear stories of technological marvels like electric boats and [...]

By |2022-02-26T10:22:26-06:00January 9th, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), NEWS|0 Comments

Jan. 14, 2022: “A Day at the 1893 World’s Fair” (online)

Chicago Detours invites guests to “A Day at the 1893 World's Fair” January 14, 2022, at 7 pm. Through a virtual visit (via Zoom) to the World's Columbian Exposition, attendees will learn how to get to the fairgrounds and purchase tickets, where to find lunch, and even where to find a bathroom. During this one-hour tour, you will learn about the people, places and ideas from the World’s Fair along with historic photos, ride a 3-D recreation of the [...]

By |2022-01-25T07:43:00-06:00January 9th, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), NEWS|0 Comments
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