Learn about the "Viking Ship and the Chicago World's Fair" at a webinar by Timothy Boyce hosted by NorCham Chicago in collaboration with the Friends of the Viking Ship. This free event will be held vis Zoom on Wednesday, February 7, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Please register at: https://www.norchamchicago.org/events/the-viking-ship-and-the-chicago-worlds-fair-1
The small city of Ripon, Wisconsin, sent 1,375 of its citizens to experience the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This was one-third of the city’s population at that time, reports the Ripon Press. A dress worn by one Ripon visitor to the World's Fair is a part of the collection at the Ripon Historical Society and is on display through the end of 2024 as part of its “The Stories We Wear” exhibit. The Society, located at 508 [...]
A program on the S.S. Christopher Columbus whaleback steamer, used to transport visitors to and from the 1893 World’s Fair, will be sponsored by the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center on Saturday, February 10, 2024. Part of the Center’s “Second Saturdays — Journeys Into Local History” series, “S. S. Christopher Columbus with Todd Gordon” will explore the history of the steamer that was built to ferry passengers from downtown Chicago to the fairgrounds. The only passenger whaleback ever built, [...]
A festive Ferris Wheel, a Dream City, a flurry of snow, dancing dragons, dancing nuts, and dancing rats! It's that time of the year for Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet to stage their spectacular annual production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from December 2-7, 2023, 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 [...]
The temporary exhibition Harriet Monroe & the Open Door at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago showcases the fascinating line connecting today’s world-renowned poetry magazine back to a poem written for the 1893 World’s Fair. Archival documents and photographs on display with accompanying descriptive texts tell the story of Harriet Monroe, her “Columbian Ode” poem, and the landmark copyright lawsuit that helped launch Poetry magazine. Part of the exhibition display for Harriet Monroe & the Open Door at the [...]
The Glessner House in Chicago is hosting an event showcasing collections from both the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the 1933-34 Century of Progress. On Sunday, November 12, 2023, "Collectibles from Chicago's Two World's Fairs" will bring together several World's Fair collectors who will exhibit a portion of their collections, ranging from guidebooks, postcards, tickets, and commemorative coins to wall hangings, glass and ceramic tchotchkes, plates, and silver spoons. We will be bringing some items from our collection and [...]
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, [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
