Our quarterly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The Spring 2019 Trivia Question In the image above can be seen the Wooded Island, spread out below the balloon. Just out the frame to the left (south) would have been a small log cabin, erected by future U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as a museum and memorial to honor [...]
“There are some crusty old bachelors and a few childless women who make a pretense of disliking children, but it's a flimsy sort of sour-grape antipathy, and rarely rings true. Even those people who do not like children's society will find a great deal to enjoy in their domicile.” —Emma. B. Dunlap, writing about the Children’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Clara Doty Bates. [Image from A Woman of the Century edited by Frances E. Willard [...]
Throughout Women’s History Month, we’re reflecting on women’s valuable contributions to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Reprinted here is Part 3 of “Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair” from the May 1893 issue of The Review of Reviews. “The Children's Building” was contributed by Clara Doty Bates, who served as the librarian for the building. Earlier this month we posted Part 1 and Part 2. Additional images have been added to the original article. Clara Doty Bates. [Image [...]
Victoria House served as Great Britain’s government building for the 1893 World’s Fair. Remnants of some beautiful carpentry from the original structure have come on the market recently. This World’s Fair relic, however, comes as part of a house on Chicago’s northside, for sale in the range of $739,000. The house at 1911 W. Farwell Avenue in the Roger’s Park neighborhood was built by Andrew Hall, an electrician who worked for a company involved with the 1893 World’s Columbian [...]
The April 2019 issue of Chicago magazine includes this timeline of the on-again-off-again (it's ON again!) plans for a film version of The Devil in the White City. There is no word yet on the title of the upcoming Hulu miniseries or where filming will take place. And who will play the role of Daniel Burnham? Perhaps ... John C. Reilly? David Morse? Tom Hanks? Daniel H. Burnham, Director of Works for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [...]
The Montclair Library (Montclair, NJ) is hosting a series of events relating to the 1893 World’s Fair as part of their programming for Montclair Reads The Devil in the White City, focused on Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries) about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and a nearby killer, H. H. Holmes. Events include: Montclair in the Gilded Age. Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, Main Library Auditorium. Learn about life in Montclair in the late [...]
“To her belongs much of the credit for the strong feminist emphasis that characterized the Columbian Exposition.” --James, et al. Notable American Women, 1607-1950, p 182. Ellen M. Henrotin [Image from Pictorial Album and History of the World’s Fair and Midway. Harry T. Smith & Co., 1893.] Socialite and social reformer, Ellen Martin Henrotin (1847-1922) served as Vice President of the World’s Congress Auxiliary of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Educated in Europe, Ellen Martin moved [...]
March is Women’s History Month and a fitting time to reflect on women’s valuable contributions to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Reprinted here is Part 2 of “Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair” from the May 1893 issue of The Review of Reviews. “The Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary” was written by Ellen M. Henrotin, Vice-President of the Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary. Part 1 was posted earlier this month, and Parts 3 will follow [...]
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, April 13, 2019. 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 [...]
A timely reminder from World'sFairChicago1893.com to set your clocks ahead for daylight savings, which begins on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The Clock Tower of the Self-Winding Clock Company in the center of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. [Image from Scientific American, July 29, 1893.]
