An Archive of Past Events
Relating to the 1893 World’s Fair
Mar. 4-Apr. 22, 2019: Montclair Reads “The Devil in the White City” (Montclair, NJ)
The Montclair Library (Montclair, NJ) is hosting a series of events relating to the 1893 World’s Fair as part of their programming for Montclair Reads The Devil in the White City, focused on Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries) about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and a nearby killer, H. H. Holmes. Events include: Montclair in the Gilded Age. Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, Main Library Auditorium. Learn about life in Montclair in the late 1800s with Montclair Township Historian Mike Farrelly. Facebook Book Club. Thursday, March 7 at 7 pm, Library’s Facebook. Join us [...]
Feb. 13, 2019: “The Black Presence at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893” Newberry Seminar (Chicago)
Chicago’s Newberry Library will offer a six-week seminar on “The Black Presence at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” to be held from 5:45-7:45 pm on Wednesdays starting on February 13 and ending on March 20, 2019. Led by Christopher Reed, Professor Emeritus of History at Roosevelt University, the seminar examines the role of African Americans in the World’s Fair with the aim of questioning the narrative established by the pamphlet The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in The World’s Columbian Exposition. Reed is the author of "All the World Is Here!": The Black Presence at White City [...]
Feb. 2, 2019: Potter & Potter Auctions to Offer Columbian Exposition Collectibles
A Statue of the Republic plaster model up for sale through Potter & Potter Auctions on February 2, 2019. Potter & Potter Auctions of Chicago will offer several interesting World’s Columbian Exposition items in their February 2nd auction, “Fine Books and Manuscripts: Featuring Important Chicago Memorabilia.” A unique lot is a three-foot, golden Statue of the Republic plaster model, identified as being produced by Orlandi Statuary of Chicago in 1993 for the 100th anniversary of the Exposition. We reported on another of these statuettes (though one including both the staff for the left hand and the globe-with-eagle [...]
Jan. 29, 2019: World’s Fair Auction #33 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #33, now open for preview. Online bidding closes on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, at 10 PM EDT. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 7 through 25 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: • a decorative powder box with a picture of the Administration Building; • a jig saw puzzle picturing the Transportation Building, with box; • a china pitcher decorated with an image of the Horticultural Building; • a porcelain plate showing the [...]
Jan. 24, 2019: Sophia Hayden’s Gold Medal To Be Auctioned
The reverse of Hayden's presentation medal . [Image from John McInnis Auctioneers.] John McInnis Auctioneers (76 Main Street, Amesbury, MA) will offer a rare item from the 1893 World’s Fair in their “Numismatics, Exonumia, Silver and Jewelry” auction on Thursday January 24, 2019. Lot 10 is a 14-karat gold presentation medal awarded to architect Sophia Hayden for her design of the Woman’s Building. An inscription on the obverse reads "Sophia G. Hayden--Presented by the Board of Lady Managers of the Worlds Columbian Commission 1893" with an image of her building. On the reverse is a portrait of Bertha [...]
White City Walking Tours 2019
There is something magical about walking through Jackson Park and thinking about how this was the center of the world for six months in 1893. On the surface there is little left of the White City, except for the some of the main landscaping features and a rebuilt Art Palace that now serves as the Museum of Science and Industry. But with an expert tour guide, the grandeur of the Dream City on the Lake resurfaces in the mind’s eye. Ray Johnson has renewed his “Friends of the White City Tours” of Jackson Park for 2019, offered every Saturday from [...]
Dec. 9, 2018: Hyde Park Historical Society book discussion (Chicago)
On Sunday, December 9, the Hyde Park Historical Society will host Chicago Historian Andrew Taylor Call, who will discuss his new book Chicago: A Civic, Industrial, and Familial History. Among the many topic covered in his book are the construction technologies used to build the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the social and civic development of Jackson Park. The event runs from 11 am to 2 pm at 5529 Lake Park Blvd. Light Refreshments will be served; copies of the new book will be for sale and the author will be available to sign copies.
Dec. 8, 2018: “Behind the Model: Reconstructing the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Saturday, December 8, 2018, the Newberry will host “Behind the Model: Reconstructing the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition”. Dr. Lisa Snyder, of UCLA’s Office of Information Technology, will discuss the technology and research behind her rich computer reconstruction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition’s White City. The lecture runs from 10-11:30 am in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is [...]
Dec. 8, 2018: “Chicago’s Two World’s Fairs” Symposium at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Saturday, December 8, 2018, the Newberry will host a symposium titled “Chicago’s Two World’s Fairs” featuring a morning program on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and afternoon speakers discussing the Century of Progress International Exposition of 1933-34. Columbian Exposition presentations run from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and features these speakers and topics: Sarah Burns, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Thomas Hovenden, Breaking Home Ties, and Culture Wars in the White City of 1893” about that artist's sensational [...]
Dec. 8, 2018: The White City and the Building of the Fair at Bezazian Library (Chicago)
Chicago historian and tour guide Al Walavich will present a talk on “The World's Columbian Exposition: The White City and the Building of the Fair” at the Bezazian Library (1226 W Ainslie St. in Chicago) at 10 AM on December 8, 2018. Walavich will explore how the White City came to be during this social and political history talk in recognition of the 125th anniversary of the World's Columbian exposition.