An Archive of Past Events
Relating to the 1893 World’s Fair
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.
Dec. 8: 125th Anniversary Celebration at the Art Institute of Chicago
December 8 is a full day for Columbian Exposition enthusiasts in Chicago! If you don’t already plan to attend the World’s Fair symposium at the Newberry Library or the talk on the White City at the Bezazian Library, you can check out the 125th anniversary celebration at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). To celebrate their anniversary, the AIC invites everyone to join in a recreation of this 1893 opening day photo from their archives. Just meet at the Michigan Avenue front steps of the museum, between the Edward Kemeys' iconic lions, “On the prowl” and “Stands in an [...]
Dec. 4, 2018: “Christmas at the Fair: The Joffrey’s New Nutcracker” 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 Tuesday, December 4, 2018, the Newberry will host “Christmas at the Fair: The Joffrey's New Nutcracker”. A special conversation with Alison Hinderliter, Ashley Wheater, and Hedy Weiss about the Joffrey Ballet’s 2018 production of The Nutcracker, set during the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The lecture runs from 6-7:30 pm in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. [...]
Dec. 1-30, 2018: Joffrey Ballet’s World’s Fair “Nutcracker” (Chicago)
Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet once again will stage their spectacular production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from December 1 to 30 at the Auditorium Theater. This new ballet by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which premiered in 2016, invites the audience to … “journey inside Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair with Wheeldon’s critically acclaimed holiday masterpiece. When young Marie and her mother, a sculptress who is creating the fair’s iconic Statue of the Republic, host a holiday party, a surprise visit from the charming Great Impresario sets off a Christmas Eve dream of whirlwind romance [...]
Nov. 15, 2018: “From White City to Green Haven: Jackson Park’s Late 19th-Century Transformations” 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 Thursday, November 15, 2018, the Newberry will host “From White City to Green Haven: Jackson Park's Late 19th-Century Transformations”. Historian Julia Bachrach will highlight the early development of Jackson Park, exploring the ways in which natural features, Olmsted’s philosophies about society, recreational needs and expectations, and collaborations with designers such as architect Daniel H. Burnham shaped Jackson Park during the late nineteenth century. The lecture runs from 6-7 pm in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry [...]
Nov. 10, 2018: “Middle Eastern Dance at 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, November 10, 2018, the Newberry will host two events about Middle Eastern Dance. “Dancing Remains: Female Entertainers Before, During, and After the Columbian Exposition of 1893”. Meiver de la Cruz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Oberlin College, revisits the historical precedents and ideological legacy of the dances presented at the “Street in Cairo” exhibit in the Midway Plaisance, to challenge prevalent representations dancers as non-agential objects of the gaze. The lecture runs from [...]