Certain Mastering Impressions

With great sadness the world witnessed the destruction by fire of significant parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris yesterday. Recollections of our visit several years ago--standing beneath the marvelous rose windows and walking among the rooftop gargoyles and chimeras--reminds us why we treasure the architectural and artistic achievements of the past. Those moments stamp the memory forever. This quote comes from “The Art of the White City” by Will H. Low in Some Artists at the Fair [...]

By |2019-04-15T21:30:09-05:00April 16th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |1 Comment

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Eulogy for Louis H. Sullivan

The gravestone for Louis H. Sullivan, in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Louis H. Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) “The work the master did may die with him—no great matter. What he represented has lived in spite of all drift—all friction, all waste, all slip—since time began for man. In this sense was Louis Sullivan true to tradition—in this sense will the divine spark, given to him from the deep centre of the universe and [...]

By |2020-04-18T21:12:19-05:00April 14th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

“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 |2019-03-24T11:21:16-05:00April 9th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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 [...]

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. [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – East Lagoon by Moonlight (p. 77)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 77 – THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT.— The night scenes at the Fair were undoubtedly the most beautiful for those who liked dreamy pictures, or half darkness contrasted with a blaze of glorious lights, better than unvarying white beauty. The fireworks, the illumination about the Court of Honor, the colored effects upon the Wooded Island were all charming and, in addition to these, was [...]

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 |2019-03-26T20:55:53-05:00March 27th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , |0 Comments

Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair, Part III

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 [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Life Saving Station (p. 76)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 76 – THE LIFE SAVING STATION THE LIFE SAVING STATION —The Life Saving Station was a popular institution at the World's Fair. At a certain hour every afternoon the crowd assembled on the lake shore and gazed out over the water, out of which, at a considerable distance, rose a mast, theoretically, that of a vessel submerged beneath. To the mast clung one or more supposedly shipwrecked people awaiting [...]

By |2019-03-10T19:20:34-05:00March 17th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair, Part II

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 [...]

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