Scott, Author at Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

“The American Spirit of Liberality and Freedom” Reaches Turkey
Gallery
“The American Spirit of Liberality and Freedom” Reaches Turkey

REPRINTS

“The American Spirit of Liberality and Freedom” Reaches Turkey

This note in the April 9, 1894, issue of the Duluth (MN) Evening Herald shared an opinion about how the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition promoted the spread of an “American spirit of liberality and freedom” internationally … and an example of falling short of that ideal within the Ottoman Empire. The Office of the Turkish Commissioners building, designed by Chicago architect J. A. Thain. stood behind the main Turkish Building on the southeast side of the North Pond. [...]

By Scott|2019-03-24T11:21:16-05:00April 9th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Ibrahim Hakky Bey, J. A. Thain, turkey, Turkish Building (Turkey)|0 Comments

Windmills Causing Illness at the 1893 World’s Fair?
Gallery
Windmills Causing Illness at the 1893 World’s Fair?

REPRINTS

Windmills Causing Illness at the 1893 World’s Fair?

The story below comes from the June 6, 1893, issue of the Chicago Times, but feels oddly relevant in light of recent, strange claims making news headlines. In the southeast corner of the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, two men overwhelmed by the great windmill exhibit encounter a sober Columbian guard who offers sage advice. When the World’s Congress on Temperance opened on June 5, many newspapers responded by offering commentary on drinking, though usually lacking in [...]

By Scott|2022-12-10T10:10:04-06:00April 8th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Bernheim Brothers Whiskey, Big Tree Restaurant, Columbian Guard, Intramural Railway, Old Times Distillery, windmills|0 Comments

Libraries at the Columbian Exposition
Gallery
Libraries at the Columbian Exposition

REPRINTS

Libraries at the Columbian Exposition

“Extremes meet at Chicago.” —librarian Caroline Harwood Garland. The 1893 World’s Fair was full of contrasts: exotic dancing on the Midway and educational exhibits; fountains illuminated by electricity and bibles illuminated by paintings, dynamos and the Dewey decimal system; balloon rides and books. Amidst the Cracker Jack and orange cider was also “food for reflection in the existence of so many libraries.” To celebrate National Library Week, let’s take a look at libraries at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [...]

By Scott|2024-04-10T16:45:52-05:00April 7th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Arkansas State Building, Battleship Illinois, Brazil Building, California State Building, Candace Wheeler, Ceylon Building, Children's Building, Clara Doty Bates, Colorado State Building, Costa Rica Building, Dora Wheeler Keith, East India Building, Florida State Building, Germany Building, Guatemala Building, Hamlin Garland, Idaho State Building, Ignacy Paderewski, Illinois State Building, Indiana State Building, Iowa State Building, Java Village, Kansas State Building, Kentucky State Building, Louisiana State Building, Maine State Building, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Mary Hartwell Catherwood, Maryland State Building, Mines and Mining Building, Missouri State Building, Music Hall, Nebraska State Building, New York State Building, North Dakota State Building, Ohio, Pennsylvania State Building, rolling chairs, South Dakota State Building, Swedish Building (Sweden), Territory Building, Texas State Building, Theodore Thomas, Tiffany, Turkish Building (Turkey), U.S. Government Building, Utah State Building, Venezuela Building, Victoria House, Virginia State Building, Washington State Building, Wisconsin State Building, Woman's Building|0 Comments

A Map of Libraries for the 1893 World’s Fair
Gallery
A Map of Libraries for the 1893 World’s Fair

HISTORY

A Map of Libraries for the 1893 World’s Fair

At the 1893 World’s Fair, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts displayed “an ingenious map prepared for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, showing at a glance which of the towns in the state have free public libraries and the number of volumes in each library at the beginning of 1893,” according to the March 1894 issue of The Library Journal. The "Free public libraries of Massachusetts" map by George H. Bartlett was on display at the 1893 World's Fair., [...]

By Scott|2019-03-23T18:47:33-05:00April 6th, 2019|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: libraries, Massachusetts State Building|1 Comment

May 5, 2019: 25th Annual World’s Fair Memorabilia Show (Elk Grove Village, IL)
Gallery
May 5, 2019: 25th Annual World’s Fair Memorabilia Show (Elk Grove Village, IL)

ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past)

May 5, 2019: 25th Annual World’s Fair Memorabilia Show (Elk Grove Village, IL)

The 25th Annual World's Fair Memorabilia Show will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2019, from 10 am to 4 pm at the Holiday Inn at 1000 Busse Road (Rt. 83 and Landmeier Rd.) in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Collectors and dealers will meet to buy, sell, and trade items related to World's Fairs from 1876 to the present. Although the main focus will be on the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair, there will also be items from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition [...]

By Scott|2022-03-10T18:43:37-06:00April 5th, 2019|Categories: ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past)|Tags: collecting|0 Comments

May 4, 2019: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)
Gallery
May 4, 2019: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)

EVENTS (past)

May 4, 2019: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)

The Chicago History Museum is offering a “Ride Like the Devil: a Devil in the White City Bike Tour” on Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 9:45 am to 12:45 pm. Cycle back to 1893, pedal past sites related to the World’s Fair, and discover its lasting influence on Chicago. Along the way, tour guide Greg Borzo, author of Where to Bike Chicago, will uncover Daniel Burnham’s grand plans and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. The route will [...]

By Scott|2022-07-08T10:00:36-05:00April 4th, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: bicycles, Chicago History Museum, Devil in the White City (book), Devil in the White City (screen), Ferris Wheel, H. H. Holmes, Rookery Building|0 Comments

Fool of the Fair
Gallery
Fool of the Fair

HISTORY

Fool of the Fair

We should expect to encounter a fool on April 1st, and visitors to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition could have met a striking fool hanging in the Palace of Fine Arts. Thomas Shields Clarke's oil painting A Fool's Fool (1887) was on display at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [Image from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.] A Fool's Fool (1887) was a work by artist Thomas Shields Clarke (1860–1920) on display in Gallery 7. The 39 [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:51:39-06:00April 1st, 2019|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: Francis Millet, George W. Maynard, Palace of Fine Arts, Thomas Shields Clarke|2 Comments

From the Balcony of Henry Ives Cobb’s Fisheries Building
Gallery
From the Balcony of Henry Ives Cobb’s Fisheries Building

REPRINTS

From the Balcony of Henry Ives Cobb’s Fisheries Building

Detail from "From the Balcony of the Fisheries Building" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine May 1893. Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) contributed several buildings to the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, but perhaps none so beautiful and intricately detailed as the great Fisheries Building. "In the Fisheries Building, a clever scheme of surface ornament has been composed from casts of starfish, seahorses, crabs, lobsters, and creatures of land and water [...]

By Scott|2019-03-26T20:55:53-05:00March 27th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Fisheries Building, Henry Ives Cobb|0 Comments

April 26, 2019: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop
Gallery
April 26, 2019: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop

EVENTS (past)

April 26, 2019: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop

If you love learning about the history of the 1893 World’s Fair, are passionate about Chicago architecture, enjoy puzzles, and want to stretch your legs, then head to the Chicago Loop for “Glitz, Glamour…and Panic! A Hunt for the History of 1893 in Chicago.” Atlas Obscura Chicago Field Agent Patti Swanson is once again hosting her "Google-proof" scavenger hunt in the Chicago Loop on Friday, April 26, 2019. You will meet on the steps of the Art Institute of [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:48:09-06:00March 26th, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: Art Institute of Chicago, Edward Kemeys, Loop, World’s Congress Auxiliary Building|0 Comments

Mar 27-May 5, 2019: Wilmette (IL) Public Library One Book, Everybody Reads “The Lake on Fire”
Gallery
Mar 27-May 5, 2019: Wilmette (IL) Public Library One Book, Everybody Reads “The Lake on Fire”

EVENTS (past)

Mar 27-May 5, 2019: Wilmette (IL) Public Library One Book, Everybody Reads “The Lake on Fire”

For their 2019 One Book, Everybody Reads program, the Wilmette (IL) Public Library has a selected a title related to the 1893 World’s Fair. Rosellen Brown's 2018 acclaimed novel, The Lake on Fire, is set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The publisher describes The Lake on Fire as an epic narrative that begins among 19th century Jewish immigrants on a failing Wisconsin farm. Lured by the potential for new life, Chaya and her brilliant younger brother [...]

By Scott|2024-10-27T12:19:02-05:00March 23rd, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

About Scott