Oct 19-20, 2023: “The Art of Dying: The Death in the Columbian Exposition” (Lombard, IL)

The Lombard Historical Society will explore some devilry in the White City at an event titled "The Art of Dying: The Death in the Columbian Exposition." Guests will learn about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the murders of H. H. Holmes in the context of Lombard, Illinois. Tours begin at 6, 7, and 8 pm on Thursday, October 19 and Friday, October 20, 2023 at the Lombard Historical Society and Victorian Cottage (23 W Maple Street in Lombard, [...]

By Scott|2023-11-05T17:54:30-06:00October 2nd, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Nov. 11, 2023: “Perspective of Wonder” talk by Cindy Angell Keeling (Chicago)

“Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” By Cindy Angell Keeling Saturday, November 11, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Chicago Public Library, Uptown Branch (929 W. Buena Ave.) Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation "Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition" on Saturday, November 11, 2023. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using [...]

By Scott|2023-12-28T10:40:12-06:00September 28th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Sep. 12, 2023: “Restoring Freya” (Geneva, IL)

The Geneva History Museum will offer a presentation on "Restoring Freya" on Tuesday, September 12 from 12- 1 pm. Freya is the new name for the newly restored dragon head and tail of the original Viking ship that sailed from Norway to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Participants will learn all about the restoration process used by Third Coast Conservation on the century-old artifact. The Viking ship dragon head and tail are on display at the Museum through [...]

By Scott|2023-10-02T13:37:16-05:00September 8th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Oct. 19, 2023: “Harriet Monroe & the Open Door” (Chicago and online)

The Newberry Library in Chicago will host a lecture on 1893 World’s Fair poet Harriet Monroe on October 19, 2023. Liesl Olson, Director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and former Director of Chicago Studies at the Newberry Library, will present “Harriet Monroe & the Open Door.” Harriet Monroe's extraordinary life and work gave the world one of the most exciting and enduring magazines devoted to “the best English verse which is being written today, regardless of where, by [...]

By Scott|2023-11-05T17:54:44-06:00September 5th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Sep. 9, 2023: “Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 Sojourn in Chicago” (Chicago)

The Art Institute of Chicago will host a presentation on "The Monk, the World’s Parliament, and the Museum—Swami ’s 1893 Sojourn in Chicago" on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Curator Dr. Madhuvanti Ghose will discuss the time in 1893 when an unknown Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda, travelled from Calcutta to Chicago to deliver a speech at the inaugural session of the World’s Parliament of Religions held at The World's Columbian Exposition. The oration, delivered in what is today the Art [...]

By Scott|2023-10-02T13:35:51-05:00September 1st, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Sep. 21, 2023: “Women’s Work at the 1893 World’s Fair” (Evanston, IL)

The Evanston History Center will host a presentation on "Women’s Work at the 1893 World’s Fair" by Diane Dillon on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 7 pm. Her presentation will explore the range of contributions women made to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, including the work of Bertha Palmer and the Board of Lady Managers, the protest of Ida B. Wells, the design of the Woman’s Building by architect Sophia Hayden, and the Congress of Representative Women. [...]

Oct 6-7, 2023: “The White City: An Audible Exhibition on H. H. Holmes, Murderer” (Chicago)

The Glessner House in Chicago will host the first staged reading of The White City: An Audible Exhibition on H. H. Holmes, Murderer on October 6 and 7, 2023. Theater in the Dark presents playwright Rick Kinnebrew’s captivating examination of one of the late 19th century’s most notorious characters. Directed by Corey Bradberry and presented in the style of classic radio dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, the production combines the written word, human voices, original music, and rich [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:10:07-06:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Aug 8, 2023: “At the World’s Fair: North Shore Resident’s Roles in the 1893 Columbian Exposition” (Online

The Winnetka Historical Society is offering an online program titled "At the World's Fair: North Shore Resident's Roles in the 1893 Columbian Exposition" from 7-8 pm (Central Time) on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. Join the free event to learn how several North Shore residents were involved in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and how the Fair had a profound impact on the city and its surrounding suburbs in many ways, including its art, architecture, and industry. Sponsored by [...]

By Scott|2024-01-07T08:47:01-06:00August 1st, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Aug 1, 2023: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (online)

Cindy Angell Keeling will offer an online presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” about the 1893 World’s Fair on Tuesday, August 1, at 7 pm CT. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world is "staff," and why was it important to the Fair? Which concession featured a donkey ride up a mountain? Participants are invited to travel back in time with her to find out. Keeling is the author [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:56-06:00July 22nd, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Sept. 10, 2023: “Walking the White City” tour (Chicago)

The Glessner House is offering a "Walking the White City" tour of the former fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition on Sunday, September 10, 2023, from 10 AM to noon. Architect and historian John Waters will guide participants on a walking tour of Jackson Park to see the sites of landmarks of the 1893 World's Fair, explore the fascinating vestiges, and learn how the Fair influenced the design of Jackson Park as we know it today. The tour [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:50-06:00July 15th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Aug 8-Oct. 31, 2023: “World’s Finest: Fly-Fishing Tackle” (Monee, IL)

A temporary exhibit featuring some historical fishing from the 1893 World’s Fair will open this fall at the Monee Reservoir Visitor Center in Monee, Illinois. Their exhibit “World’s Finest: Fly-Fishing Tackle” highlights influential anglers, all of whom exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This ongoing program runs from Tuesday, Aug. 8, to Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, at the Visitor Center (27341 S Ridgeland Ave in Monee) and is free. Paintings on display in the Angling Pavilion [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:43-06:00July 8th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

June 10, 2023: “Next Stop: The World’s Fair” (Gallitzin, PA)

The Allegheny Portage Railroad is hosting a program titled "Next Stop: The World's Fair" on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at 8 pm. This presentation by Elizabeth Shope will explore the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, including a history of the exposition and items that were on display relating to the Allegheny Portage Railroad. This free program lasts approximately one hour and is presented by Elizabeth Shope. No reservations are required. The program will take place in the Amphitheater (or, [...]

By Scott|2023-06-11T08:40:56-05:00June 10th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

May 3-Aug 27, 2023: “The World Is Changing Exhibit” (Molly Brown House Museum, CO)

Among the amazing array of famous (or soon-to-be-famous) people walking the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago was the Margaret “Molly” Brown. Posthumously known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” she was a survivor of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, while her shipmate Francis (“Frank”) Millet, Director of Decoration and Function at the Columbian Exposition, went down with the ship. A new temporary exhibit about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition has opened at the Molly Brown [...]

By Scott|2023-08-30T18:46:15-05:00May 14th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

June 9, 2023: The Princess of the Fair: The Infanta Eulalia of Spain’s Visit to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (online)

Royalty! Fireworks! A Throne! The Glessner House in Chicago will be hosting an online presentation on "The Princess of the Fair: The Infanta Eulalia of Spain's Visit to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition" on Friday, June 9, 2023. Among the amazing array of famous people walking the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the supreme guest of honor was the Infanta Eulalia of Spain. Chicago was hosting royalty, and the world was watching. During her eight [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:36-06:00May 9th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Mar. 22, 2023: “1893 Chicago World’s Fair” lecture (Palatine, IL)

The Palatine Library hosts a talk on "The 1893 Chicago World's Fair" on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Main Library building (700 N. North Court, Palatine, IL). Historian Jim Gibbons will detail the events of the World’s Columbian Exposition, while incorporating the story of a darker story of America’s first well-known serial killer, the infamous H.H. Holmes. Register to attend the free event here.

By Scott|2023-05-09T20:03:45-05:00March 11th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Mar 29, 2023: “Deconstructing The Devil in the White City” seminar (online)

The Newberry Library's Adult Education program will offer an online writing seminar on Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. This acclaimed 2003 historical non-fiction book introduced millions of readers to the facinating and tumultuous history of how the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was built. "Deconstructing The Devil in the White City" will analyze the craft of the storytelling in Larson's writing. Dr. Caroline Malloy—a historian, book coach, and [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:31-06:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Feb. 4 – Dec. 23, 2023: “Viking’s Voyage” (Geneva History Museum, IL)

One of the largest surviving display artifacts of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition sits in a park in Geneva, Illinois. The Viking ship, a replica of the ancient Viking ship Gokstad, was built in Norway in 1892 and sailed to Chicago in 1893, surviving a long and dangerous non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Since 1995, the ship has stood in Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois, and now is managed and preserved by the Friends of The Viking [...]

By Scott|2023-12-28T10:40:29-06:00February 11th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: |1 Comment

Dec. 10-11, 2022: “Sophia Hayden Deserves Better” play reading (Normal, IL)

In 1891 a brilliant 23-year-old woman won an architecture contest to design the Woman’s Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. What should have been the start to a flourishing career in architecture became career-ending. Throughout the two-year process of building the Woman’s Building, the architect quietly endured bullying, micromanaging, and undermining until she finally spoke up. In a time when women were defined as physically and intellectually weaker than men, her concerns were not only not heard, [...]

By Scott|2023-01-17T17:46:43-06:00December 3rd, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , |0 Comments

Dec. 3-27, 2022: Joffrey Ballet’s “Columbian Nutcracker” (Chicago)

Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet once again will stage their spectacular production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from December 3-7, 2022, at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Wacker Dr. in Chicago) This ballet by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which premiered in 2016, invites the audience to … “journey inside Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair ... when young Marie and her mother, a sculptress who is creating the fair’s iconic Statue of [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:08:42-06:00November 26th, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , |0 Comments

Nov. 3, 2022–Oct. 28, 2023: “The City Beyond the White City” (Charnley-Persky House Museum, Chicago)

A new exhibition explores the history of race and the built environment in Chicago through archaeology connecting the “White City” of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition to the material, spatial, and social histories of two 1892 structures—the Charnley-Persky House and the Mecca Flats—located respectively on Chicago’s privileged Near North and disinvested Near South Sides. The City Beyond the White City: Race, Two Chicago Homes, and their Neighborhoods, sponsored by the Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation and Society of Architectural Historians [...]

By Scott|2023-11-05T17:55:16-06:00November 19th, 2022|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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