Keanu Reeves Heads to the White City as Builder not Killer

After nearly two decades in development, a long-awaited screen drama about the 1893 World’s Fair may be coming at last. Hulu announced on August 4, 2022, that Keanu Reeves has officially joined the cast of the streaming service’s upcoming limited series The Devil in the White City. Back in January, rumors circulated that Reeves was in talks for an unidentified role. The show will be an adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling 2003 non-fiction book that interweaves the true stories [...]

By |2022-12-10T09:55:56-06:00August 13th, 2022|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: |0 Comments

Olmsted’s Three Visions for Jackson Park

The National Association for Olmsted Parks has posted a fascinating look at "Olmsted’s Three Visions for Jackson Park" by Julia Bachrach. She explores the designs by Frederick Law Olmsted for South Park in 1871, the fairgrounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and return of Jackson Park in 1895. Construction in 1891 of the fairgrounds for the 1893 World's Fair.

By |2022-08-11T15:41:18-05:00July 17th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments

The best selling book ever written about Chicago

"At 2.3 million copies, this may be the best selling book ever written about Chicago," reports Chicago Magazine. Making their list of The 10 Best 21st Century Chicago Nonfiction Books, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (2003) is Erik Larson's "intertwined biographies of Chicago’s greatest builder and its greatest destroyer." This captivating narrative nonfiction account of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (and parallel profile of "serial killer" H.H. Holmes) [...]

By |2023-10-20T21:25:09-05:00July 15th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments

“Very beautiful beyond description”

Who was Samuel A. Dow? How did he get to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago from his home in North Hampton, New Hampshire? Which buildings did he visit on the fairgrounds? What site did he describe as "very beautiful beyond description"? The North Hampton Historical Society shares a summary of his diary in "Mr Dow Goes to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair." The New Hampshire State Building. [Image from Arnold, C. D.; Higinbotham, H. D. World's Columbian Exposition: [...]

By |2022-07-13T12:44:33-05:00July 13th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments

Devil Details: Someone “inspired and probably unexpected” to star in Hulu’s “The Devil in the White City”

Deadline’s recent interview with Jordan Helman, head of scripted content at Hulu, revealed a few tantalizing tidbits about the streaming service’s project, The Devil in the White City. He confirms that Sam Shaw is the showrunner, working “within a small army of producers.” Previous reports have this production team including Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Emma Koskoff, Jennifer Davisson, Rick Yorn, and Stacey Sher. Helman also confirms that sitting in the director’s chair will be Todd Field, whom he describes [...]

By |2022-05-08T06:25:01-05:00May 8th, 2022|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: |0 Comments

Changes Coming to Midway Plaisance

“Passing under the Stony Island viaduct, we are in a new world, which, while it does not pretend to instruct, still conveys quite an amount of real knowledge, though carefully enshrouded in a sugarcoating of amusement.” —“The World's Columbian Exposition, a View from the Ferris Wheel” Scientific American September 9, 1893, pp. 169 70. The Midway Plaisance, a six hundred-foot wide by one-mile-long strip of land connecting Jackson Park on the east to Washington Park on the west, served [...]

By |2022-04-01T15:30:11-05:00April 3rd, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments

Hulu’s “The Devil in the White City” to be a musical!

Plans for the long-awaited screen adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling The Devil in the White City have taken an unusual turn, with the announcement that the paired stories of the 1893 World’s Fair and serial murders will be set to song, with a flock of heavy-hitter musical talent being cast in several lead roles. While the lead role of H. H. Holmes remains unfilled at this time, many sources are indicating that Keanu Reeves (The Matrix: Resurrections) will fill [...]

By |2022-04-01T06:12:31-05:00April 1st, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments

In a Pickle on Jeopardy

Writers for Jeopardy have been digging into the history of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition for answers to questions in recent weeks. Amy Schneider's incredible winning streak came to end soon after missing a Final Jeopardy question about the Field Columbian Museum on the January 24, 2022, episode. During the episode airing on Friday, February 4, 2022 (Show #8570), the "Dance Party" category held the answer "At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the 'Street in Cairo' exhibit helped introduce [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:09:28-05:00March 5th, 2022|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , , |2 Comments

Final Jeopardy

We've been devoted Jeopardy fans in recent weeks, due to the incredible winning streak of Amy Schneider. The episode that aired on January 24, 2022, included an extra treat: a final Jeopardy about the 1893 World's Fair: The answer question, of course, is "What is the Field Museum?" (then called the Field Columbian Museum), named for benefactor Marshall Field. Although defending champion Amy Schneider bet big but did not come up with the correct question, contestant Joanne Mercer did [...]

By |2023-10-05T09:10:06-05:00January 24th, 2022|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , |1 Comment

Which of the 6 Everyday Inventions Debuted at 1893 World’s Fair?

Do you know which of these “6 Everyday Inventions That Debuted at World's Fairs," from a list assembled by History.com, are from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition? 1. telephone 2. zipper 3. dishwasher 4. electrical plug and socket 5. television 6. touchscreens Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913) of Shelbyville, IL, is credited with inventing the dishwashing machine, which she exhibited in the Inventions Room of the Woman’s Building. Whitcomb L. Judson is widely recognized as the inventor of the zipper, which [...]

By |2023-12-05T15:44:48-06:00January 16th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments
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