An Archive of Past Events
Relating to the 1893 World’s Fair
Apr. 7, 2022: “The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair” (Winnetka, IL)
Thursday, April 7, 2022, the Winnetka-Northfield Library District will host author and archaeologist Rebecca Graff, speaking on "The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism During Chicago's 1893 World's Fair." Prof. Graff will present research from archaeological sites associated with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The event runs from 7-8 PM in the Winnetka Library (768 Oak Street in Winnetka, IL) and is free and open to the public. Registration is required and capacity is limited. The Ohio Building. [Image from The Dream City. A Portfolio of Photographic Views of the World’s Columbian Exposition (N. D. Thompson, 1893).] [...]
Apr. 4, 2022: “Chicago Exposition 1893” at Lewiston Auburn Senior College (ME)
What do Milton Hershey, L. Frank Baum, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frederick Law Olmsted, Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla and a host of other have in common? They were all part of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the topic of a lecture "Chicago Exposition 1893" by Alan Elze offered at Lewiston Auburn Senior College in Lewiston, Maine, on April 4, 2022. The event will be held Lewiston-Auburn Senior College (51 Westminster Street in Lewiston) and is free.
Mar 29, 2022: “Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans” (Council Bluffs, IA)
Historical dramatist R.J. Lindsey will become Daniel Burnham, Director of Works for the 1893 World's Fair, in a living history program at the Council Bluffs Public Library on March 29, 2022. In "Daniel Burnham: Make No Little Plans," the famed Chicago architect narrates a slide program, including many photographs, detailing the Chicago Fire of 1871, the building of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition, and the Chicago Development Plan of 1909. He will also discuss several of his innovative buildings: Montauk, Monandnock, Reliance, and the Rookery. The program is offered from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm in Meeting Room B [...]
Mar. 27, 2022: “Sophia Hayden Deserves Better” play reading (Barrington, IL)
In 1891 a brilliant 23-year-old woman won an architecture contest to design the Woman’s Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. What should have been the start to a flourishing career in architecture became career-ending. Throughout the two-year process of building the Woman’s Building, the architect quietly endured bullying, micromanaging, and undermining until she finally spoke up. In a time when women were defined as physically and intellectually weaker than men, her concerns were not only not heard, but she was sent to a sanitarium. Diagnosed with melancholia due to overexertion. Silenced. After the fair, her building was [...]
Feb. 25-Jun. 25, 2022: “Crossings: Mapping American Journeys” (Newberry Library, Chicago)
A map of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition fairgrounds is part of a new exhibit at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Maps, guidebooks, travelogues, postcards, and more from the Library’s collection recreate travelers’ experiences along the northern and southern borders of the US, across the continent’s interior, and up and down the Mississippi River. “Crossings: Mapping American Journeys” includes an enlarged print of the Indexed Guide Map and Key to the World’s Fair Buildings, Grounds, and Exhibits from the Rand, McNally and Company for the Old Times Distillery Company. The Old Times Distillery Company of Louisville, Kentucky, sponsored a [...]
Jan. 28-Nov. 1, 2022: “No Compact of Silence” exhibit (Indianapolis)
The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis has a new special exhibit highlighting national and local Black civil rights activists during President Benjamin Harrison’s term in office (1889–1893). “No ‘Compact of Silence’: Black Civil Rights Advocates in the Harrison Era” explores the complex dynamics of race in late 19th century America, including the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Prominent individuals who will be featured include Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells. April 1890, President Harrison officially signed an act providing for an “international exhibition of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, and sea" to [...]
Jan. 28, 2022: “Innovations at the 1893 World’s Fair” (online)
Chicago Detours invites guests to explore “Innovations at the 1893 World's Fair” on January 28, 2022, at 7 pm. Through a virtual visit (via Zoom) to the World's Columbian Exposition, attendees will delve into the inventions, engineering feats, and gastronomical exhibits that wowed visitors to Chicago's most esteemed event. During this one-hour tour, you will see interior photos of the jaw-dropping sights like the Electricity Hall and the Manufacturers Building, hear stories of technological marvels like electric boats and a massive telescope, consider the variety of foods on display at the Fair (including giant food sculptures), and play a [...]
Jan. 14, 2022: “A Day at the 1893 World’s Fair” (online)
Chicago Detours invites guests to “A Day at the 1893 World's Fair” January 14, 2022, at 7 pm. Through a virtual visit (via Zoom) to the World's Columbian Exposition, attendees will learn how to get to the fairgrounds and purchase tickets, where to find lunch, and even where to find a bathroom. During this one-hour tour, you will learn about the people, places and ideas from the World’s Fair along with historic photos, ride a 3-D recreation of the original Ferris Wheel, and play a fast-paced trivia game that reveals sights and experiences that fairgoers would have encountered. The [...]
Oct. 8, 2021: “City on Fire” opens at the Chicago History Museum
Embers of the Great Chicago Fire continue to smolder. Stories of tragedy and triumph from October 8–10, 1871, and the years of rebuilding that followed have been cause for somber remembrance and jubilant celebration throughout the years, including at “Chicago Day” held at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Fire, the Chicago History Museum has opened a new permanent exhibit, “City on Fire: Chicago 1871." Several displays and artifacts connected to the 1893 World’s Fair are featured. “City on Fire” focuses on the experiences of several survivors of the conflagration, including ten-year-old Fannie [...]
Sept. 24, 2021: “Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright” (Chicago)
An exhibit at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago explores two lost architectural masterworks: the Garrick Theatre Building in Chicago designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Building in Buffalo. Curated by John Vinci, Tim Samuelson, Eric Nordstrom, Chris Ware and Jonathan D. Katz, “Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright” uses fragments, drawings, photography, and narrative to elucidate the life and death of these two iconic buildings. The first section of the exhibit, “Reconstructing the Garrick,” highlights the many connections between the Adler and Sullivan’s design of the Garrick Theatre Building, which [...]