141. Picturesque World’s Fair – Proctor’s Noted Statue of “The Indian”

PROCTOR'S NOTED STATUE OF "THE INDIAN." — The most notable adornments of the West Lagoon were Proctor's "Indian" and "Cowboy," which pieces of statuary stood overlooking the lagoon from points near the Transportation Building. It was certainly fortunate that the work of producing the statuary around the main basin and lagoons was left to artists as thoroughly American in choice of theme and manner of treatment as Edward Kemeys and A. Phimister Proctor. By neither of them was anything [...]

140. Picturesque World’s Fair – Interior of the India Building

INTERIOR OF THE INDIA BUILDING.— So great was the display of articles of sandal-wood in the interior of the India Building that the fragrance of the various objects always filled the air and added to the oriental flavor of the scene and the occasion, and very little of the walls could be seen, so profuse was the display of all kinds of East India goods. At one end of the single large room, lighted only from above, was an [...]

By |2022-06-19T18:13:36-05:00June 19th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , |0 Comments

139. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Pennsylvania

THE PENNSYLVANIA BUILDING.—Among the most conspicuous of the State Buildings in size and cost, that of Pennsylvania possessed an added interest because its front was an exact reproduction of that of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and because it contained the famous Liberty Bell. The edifice was in the Colonial style, of rectangular form, two stories in height, and occupied a ground space one hundred and ten by one hundred and sixty-six feet in area. Piazzas twenty feet wide surrounded [...]

By |2022-05-31T06:08:30-05:00May 31st, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

138. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Guatemala Building

THE GUATEMALA BUILDING.—Built in the Spanish style and tastefully though not profusely decorated, the Guatemala Building presented a most attractive frontage from its site at the east end of the North Pond. The edifice was one hundred and eleven feet square, and two stories in height, and the corners were embellished by graceful towers twenty-three feet in diameter. The entire height of the towers was sixty-five feet, and in two of them were staircases giving access to the roof [...]

By |2022-05-07T05:32:48-05:00May 7th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS, Uncategorized|Tags: , |0 Comments

The Master Mind of the 1893 World’s Fair

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted—landscape architect, author, conservationist, and social activist. His ambitious designs transformed Jackson Park in Chicago into the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The excerpt below, from the November 1, 1893, issue of the Chicago Inter Ocean newspaper, is quick to credit the many important architects who together designed the fairgrounds. From Olmsted’s seminal vision, though, emerged the Dream City on Lake Michigan. [The article [...]

By |2022-04-26T17:49:21-05:00April 26th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |0 Comments

137. Picturesque World’s Fair – North and West from the Government Building

NORTH AND WEST FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING.—From the dome of the Government Building the prospect north and west afforded as much variety as could be had from any point of observation of the Fair Grounds, since in other directions the view was either much shorter or was cut off by the huge department structures. The illustration shows the Fisheries in the foreground, the details of the south façade of the main building outlined very clearly at such short distance. [...]

The Girl Who Walked on a Monster’s Belt

“The Fair, considered as an electrical exposition only, would be well worthy the attention of the world.” —Murat Halstead, “Electricity at the Fair” Cosmopolitan, September 1893. A great central power plant inside of Machinery Hall powered most of the incandescent lamps, arc lamps, motors, and water pumps for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Capable of delivering more than 12,000 horsepower (9480 kilowatts), this was not only—by far—the largest power plant ever built but also a stunning exhibit of the [...]

By |2023-12-27T09:31:30-06:00April 2nd, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , |0 Comments

136. Picturesque World’s Fair – Birds-Eye View of the Columbian Fountain

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN.—It was a merit of the famous Columbian Fountain and one indicative of its quality as a great work of art that it was beautiful from whatever direction a view of it might be taken. So perfect were the relations of its parts that even a bird's-eye view gave something symmetrical and picturesque In the illustration, the observer being almost directly north and at a slight elevation, minor details of the barge are not [...]

135. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Viking Ship

THE VIKING SHIP.—It was well that with the Columbian celebration honor should be paid to Leif Ericsson, undoubtedly the first European to land upon the shores of America, though due advantage was not taken of his great discovery and it was well, too, that the Viking Ship seen at the Fair should be a reproduction of one buried with its commander at about the time Leif Ericsson made his voyage. That was not far from the year 1000. The [...]

By |2022-03-15T06:01:30-05:00February 8th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

134. Picturesque World’s Fair – Entrance to the Electricity Building

ENTRANCE TO THE ELECTRICITY BUILDING.—The south front of the Electricity Building was by no means deficient in the part it sustained toward making a wall of splendid architecture about the Grand Plaza, and the special feature of this front was, of course, the main entrance to the structure. Here the architects had made their chief study and secured their greatest results. The facades were all relieved by entrances, but the one to the south had special distinction in its [...]

By |2022-01-23T09:09:55-06:00January 23rd, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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