REPRINTS Archives - Page 6 of 34 - Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

The Fair as a Spectacle, Introduction: Charles Mulford Robinson visits the Dream City
Gallery
The Fair as a Spectacle, Introduction: Charles Mulford Robinson visits the Dream City

REPRINTS

The Fair as a Spectacle, Introduction: Charles Mulford Robinson visits the Dream City

“The Columbian Exposition had a decidedly reformist influence,” writes World’s Fair historian Reid Badger, “and there is little question that it was at least an indirect factor in the development of the ‘City Beautiful’ movement.” [Badger 115] Among the great urban planning pioneers influenced by the 1893 World’s Fair was Charles Mulford Robinson (1869–1917). Urban-planning pioneer Charles Mulford Robinson memorialized the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in his essay “The Fair as a Spectacle.” [Image from Johnson, Rossiter A [...]

By Scott|2023-07-03T06:40:16-05:00June 29th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Charles Mulford Robinson|1 Comment

153. Picturesque World’s Fair – Sections of Timber and Gladstone’s Axe
Gallery
153. Picturesque World’s Fair – Sections of Timber and Gladstone’s Axe

REPRINTS

153. Picturesque World’s Fair – Sections of Timber and Gladstone’s Axe

SECTIONS OF TIMBER AND GLADSTONE'S AX.—One of the great " show pieces " in the Forestry Building had a personal attraction in that the implement actually used in chopping by one of the most famous men in the world formed a portion of the exhibit. This was the ax, with its history properly attested, which had been used by Mr. Gladstone in cutting down a tree upon his eightieth birthday. In the center of the building stood a collection [...]

By Randy|2023-06-27T06:05:08-05:00June 27th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Forestry Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

“Think of it. Three thousand people on a wheel!”
Gallery
“Think of it. Three thousand people on a wheel!”

REPRINTS

“Think of it. Three thousand people on a wheel!”

The magnificent Ferris Wheel on the Midway Plaisance of the World’s Columbian Exposition opened to the public on June 21, 1893. Some first-hand accounts of riding in the mechanical monster capture the thrill of what it felt like for those first passengers—many of whom may have never even been in a building with more than a few floors tall—to be lifted into the air. A special correspondence to the San Francisco Morning Call (July 7, 1893) shared this experience [...]

By Scott|2023-06-11T08:42:03-05:00June 21st, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Ferris Wheel|0 Comments

A Comedy of Errors at the Gates to the 1893 World’s Fair
Gallery
A Comedy of Errors at the Gates to the 1893 World’s Fair

REPRINTS

A Comedy of Errors at the Gates to the 1893 World’s Fair

Do you remember that time when the Vice President of the United States was refused admission to the World’s Columbian Exposition? Because Adlai Stevenson had forgotten to bring his pass that day, he was held up by a gateman just trying to follow the rules. The Boston Globe reported on a similar “comedy of errors” enacted at the 63rd Street entrance gate just three days later, on the morning of May 26, 1893: As usual, the principals were Columbian [...]

By Scott|2023-06-18T15:38:57-05:00June 19th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Charles Schwab, George V. Massey, Horace Tucker, John E. Stearns, Michael de Young, Stanford White|0 Comments

152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building
Gallery
152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building

REPRINTS

152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS IN THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING. —The California Sea Lions, which afforded such a fine illustration of the taxidermist's skill and attracted so much comment in the Government Building, were like old friends, not merely to Californians who had seen them or their relations, enjoying themselves in the waters of the coast, but to thousands of people familiar with scenes in the parks of the great cities. The Sea Lions exhibited in the Government Building were fine specimens, [...]

By Randy|2023-05-30T05:51:57-05:00May 30th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Building|0 Comments

151. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Colorado Building
Gallery
151. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Colorado Building

REPRINTS

151. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Colorado Building

THE COLORADO BUILDING.—Occupying a prominent site near the popular northwestern entrance to the Exposition Grounds, and presenting a fine frontage, the Colorado Building was one of the most noticeable of State structures, and in detail fully deserved the attention it attracted. It was built in the Spanish Renaissance style, at a cost of $35,000, and was finished exteriorly in staff of an ivory color. Two slender Spanish towers, rising to a height of ninety-eight feet, gave character to the [...]

By Randy|2023-05-02T20:33:59-05:00May 4th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Colorado State Building, Mines and Mining Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

150. Picturesque World’s Fair – Interior of the Mining Building
Gallery
150. Picturesque World’s Fair – Interior of the Mining Building

REPRINTS

150. Picturesque World’s Fair – Interior of the Mining Building

INTERIOR OF THE MINING BUILDING.—There was much in the Mines and Mining Building the value of which was not apparent save to the expert, bit there was a great deal there also which was glitteringly attractive, and a great deal that was curious even to the casual visitor. The display of gold and silver made from some of the states was striking, as were the exhibits of precious stones from different countries, and the great monuments of coal were [...]

By Randy|2023-04-02T03:28:28-05:00April 2nd, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: California State Building, Germany, Mines and Mining Building, Montana State Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

149. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Statue of Plenty
Gallery
149. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Statue of Plenty

REPRINTS

149. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Statue of Plenty

THE STATUE OF " PLENTY."—The pieces of statuary which stood beside the portals of the great buildings or bridge approaches, or on pedestals overlooking the Grand Basin and canals and lagoons, had all definite names fitted to the idea of their conception. What Kemeys and Proctor did with wild animals Potter and French did with domestic ones, introducing them in statuary with fine effect. The Statue of " Plenty " was well conceived in the female figure leaning carelessly [...]

By Randy|2023-03-09T17:41:36-06:00March 10th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Alexander Phimister Proctor, Daniel Chester French, Edward Kemeys, Edward Potter, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

The Making of the White City (Part 2)
Gallery
The Making of the White City (Part 2)

REPRINTS

The Making of the White City (Part 2)

[Continued from Part 1] A great stage decked with ambitious scenery Perhaps the first thing that would strike a stranger entering the World’s Fair grounds in the summer of 1892 would be the silence of the place, the next the almost theatrical unreality of the impression by the sight of an assemblage of buildings so startlingly out of the common in size and form. When I speak of the silence, I mean the effect of silence. There are seven [...]

The Making of the White City (Part 1)
Gallery
The Making of the White City (Part 1)

REPRINTS

The Making of the White City (Part 1)

Few essays about the fairgrounds for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition better capture the creative energy of its construction than H. C. Bunner’s “The Making of the White City.” The American novelist, journalist, and poet Henry Cuyler Bunner (1855–1896) visited Jackson Park in Chicago during the summer of 1892. There he witnessed laborers assembling the great exhibit halls, hundreds of smaller structures, and magnificent landscaping in advance of the October 1892 Dedication Day ceremony. While Bunner employs an ornate [...]

By Scott|2024-09-13T13:11:20-05:00February 12th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Auditorium, Frederick Law Olmsted, Lincoln Park, New York|1 Comment