The Midway Plaisance
The Midway Plaisance is a six hundred-foot wide by one mile-long strip of land that connects Jackson Park on the east to Washington Park on the west, running for seven blocks between 59th Street on the north and 60th Street on the South. From an initial plan for a “Bazaar of Nations” exhibit, the district evolved into a mix of educational displays enshrouded in a sugarcoating of amusement. The Midway consisted of a most unusual collection of almost every type of architecture known to man: international villages and bazaars, native settlements, theaters, amusement rides, and reproductions of ancient or historic sites. Rising above it in the center was the massive Ferris Wheel. The Midway’s kaleidoscope of colors, languages, songs, foods, and items for sale had something for everyone.
Explore the Midway using the interactive map below. The attractions and concessions are listed alphabetically by name, followed by a list of additional services. The map, with east at the top, is divided into 12 north (N) and south (S) sections. The code with each attraction name indicates its location on the map (e.g. “N1-c” is structure c in section N1.) Click on a building to open an image, summary information, and links to posts and pages about the building, its architects, artists, and attractions.
Exhibits listed in Flinn’s Official Guide to Midway Plaisance are noted by numbers, and concession numbers refer to Higinbotham’s Report of the President. Many exhibits and concessions went by several different names. A few listed in Guide books were never built or operated, and a few that operated were not listed in guide books.
Adams Express Company [S1-e]
Algerian and Tunisian Village [N8-a]
American Indian Village [N9-b]
Austrian Village / Old Vienna [S9]
Aztec Indian Village / Aztec Ruins [N2-b]
Barre Sliding Railway (did not open) [S12]
Bedouin Camp / Wild East Show / Ottoman Hippodrome [S11-b / S12]
Brazilian Concert Hall [N10-b]
Bulgarian Curiosities [S1-d]
Captive Balloon Ride [N10-a]
Chinese Village and Theater / Joss House [N9-d]
Colorado Gold Mining [N2-a]
Dahomey Village [S10-a]
Diamond Match Company [N1-b]
East Indian Bazaar [N8-b]
Eiffel Tower Model [N7-d]
Electric Scenic Theater [N2-c]
Ferris Wheel [N8-c]
French Cider Press [S8-f]
German Village [N5-N6]
German Wienerwurst House / Triacca Restaurant [S7-b]
Hagenbeck’s Animal Arena [S3-c]
Hindoo Jugglers [N2-a]
Home Restaurant / Home Bakery Restaurant [S4-b]
Hungarian Café and Concert Pavilion / National Hungarian Orpheum [S11-a]
Ice Railway and Skating Rink [S8-b]
Irish Village and Donegal Castle [N3-b]
Irish Village and Blarney Castle [S1-a]
Japanese Bazaar [N3-c]
Java Village / Javanese Village [N4]
Johore Bungalow and Village [S4-d]
Lapland Village [S10-b]
Libbey Glass Company [N3-a]
Military Encampment [N11-d / N12]
Moorish Palace [S7-c]
Natatorium and Vienna Bakery [S5-a]
New England Restaurant / Lunchroom [S2-c]
Nursery Exhibits [N1-h, S1-f]
Old Times Log Cabin / Log Cabin of ’76 [S2-b]
Ostrich Farm [N10-c]
Panorama of Bernese Alps [S5-b]
Parisian Art Glassware Company / Glass Spinning [S8-a]
Persian Palace / Persian Theater and Bazaar [N7-c]
Pompeii Theater and Panorama / Last Days of Pompeii [N7-b]
Sitting Bull’s Cabin [N11-b]
South Sea Islands Village [S4-a]
St. Bernard Dog Show [N11-a]
St. Peter’s Model [S8-e]
Street in Cairo and Egyptian Luxor Temple [N7-a]
Tin Types [N1-f]
Tree of Wonder / Camera Obscura [S7-d]
Turkish Village [S6]
U.S. Custom Office [S7-a]
U.S. Submarine Diving Company [S3-a]
Venice Murano Company [S3-b]
Vienna Cafe [N8-d]
Volcano of Kilauea Cyclorama / Panorama [N9-a]
Wellington Catering [S4-c]
Workingman’s Model Home (Philadelphia) [N1-d]
World’s Congress of Beauty / Costume and Beauty Show [N1-e]
Zoopraxographical Hall [N7-b]
SERVICES
Clow Toilet Rooms [N2-c]
Clow Toilet Rooms [S8-h]
Clow Toilet Rooms [N11-c]
Fire and Guard Station [N1-a]
Fire and Guard Station No. 6 [S8-g]
Ambulance Station[N1-c]
East End of Midway Plaisance
Fire and Guard Station
sponsor: managed by the Fire Department
architect: Charles B. Atwood
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Fire Department
Diamond Match Company
Official Guide No. 1
sponsor: Diamond Match Company (concession 44)
architect: Biers, Clay & Dutton
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Diamond Match Company
Workingman’s Model Home (Philadelphia)
Official Guide No. 2
sponsor: Woman’s Auxiliary, W. C. E. Philadelphia branch; George William Childs
architect: W.T.B. Roberts of Philadelphia
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Philadelphia Workingman’s Model Home
World's Congress of Beauty
also called the "Costume and Beauty Show"
Official Guide No. 3
sponsor: International Dress and Costume Company (concession 59)
architect: John J. Flanders and William Carbys Zimmerman of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Congress of Beauty
Tin Types
???
Nursery Exhibits
Included the California Nursery, French Fruit Tree Exhibit, Wisconsin Evergreen Exhibit, Wisconsin Cranberry Marsh, Elgin Plant Exhibit, and Orange Judd Farmer Weed Exhibit
Official Guide Nos. 4, 57, 58, 59, 60
sponsor: managed by the Horticulture Department
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Nursery Exhibits
Irish Village and Blarney Castle
Official Guide No. 63
sponsor: Irish Industries Association (concession 43), Lady Aberdeen (President)
architect: Hamlin and Totten
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Irish Village and Blarney Castle
unknown kiosk
Combination Booth
Bulgarian Curiosities
sponsor: E. S. Youtcheff (concession 232 “Bulgarian Goods”)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Bulgarian Curiosities
Adams Express Company
Official Guide No. 62
sponsor: Adams Express Building Company
architect: Enock Hill Turnock of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Adams Express Company
Aztec Indian Village / Aztec Ruins
sponsor: P. B. Mills (concession 300)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Aztec Indian Village
Electric Scenic Theater
Official Guide No. 5
sponsor: Siemens Company of Berlin, Germany; Arthur Schwartz (concession 137)
architect: Boyer & Hill of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Electric Scenic Theater
Clow Toilet Rooms
sponsor: managed by the Clow Sanitary Company
architect: Charles B. Atwood
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Clow Sanitary Company
Colorado Gold Mining
Official Guide No. 56
sponsor: R. A. Campbell (concession 238 “Gold Mine”)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Colorado Gold Mining exhibit
Old Times Log Cabin
also called "Log Cabin of ’76"
Official Guide No. 54
sponsor: Emma Southwick Brinton (concession 177 “New England Log Cabin”)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Old Times Log Cabin and Restuarant
New England Restaurant / Lunchroom
Official Guide No. 55
sponsor: Mssrs. Clark & Miller
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the New England Restaurant
Libbey Glass Company
Official Guide No. 6
sponsor: Libbey Glass Company of Toledo, Ohio (concession 25)
architect: David L. Stine
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Libbey Glass Company
Irish Village and Donegal Castle
Official Guide No. 7
sponsor: Alice M. Hart / Mrs. Ernest Hart (concession 69)
architect: J. J. Egan
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Irish Village and Donegal Castle
Japanese Bazaar
Official Guide No. 8
sponsor: Y. Maurai (concession 75)
architect: Masamichi Kuru
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Japanese Bazaar
U.S. Submarine Diving Company
Official Guide No. 53
sponsor: J. J. Mannion & Co. (concession 221)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the U.S. Submarine Diving Company exhibit
Venice Murano Company
Official Guide No. 52
sponsor: Venice-Murano Company (concession 38)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Venice Murano Company
Hagenbeck’s Animal Arena
Official Guide No. 51
sponsor: Hagenbeck’s Zoological Arena Company (concession 87), Carl Hagenbeck, owner
architect: Joseph L. Silsbee
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about Hagenbeck’s Animal Arena
Java Village / Javanese Village
Official Guide No. 9
sponsor: The Java-Chicago Exposition Co. (concession 234)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Java Village
South Sea Islands Village
Official Guide No. 50
sponsor: The Oceanic Trading Company (concession 116)
architect: John Duncan
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the South Sea Islands Village
Home Bakery Restaurant
sponsor: W. S. Troop & Co. (concession 5)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Home Bakery Restaurant
Wellington Catering Company
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Wellington Catering Company
Johore Bungalow and Village
Official Guide No. 49
sponsor: Rounsevelle Wildman (concessionaire)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Johore Bungalow and Village
German Village
Official Guide No. 10
sponsor: Dr. Ulrich Jahn (concession 7)
architect: August Fiedler of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the German Village
Natatorium and Vienna Bakery
The Natatorium was later called the Gymnase
Official Guide No. 48
sponsor: L. J. Kadish (concession 8)
architect: Boyer & Hill of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about Natatorium and Vienna Bakery
Panorama of the Bernese Alps
Official Guide No. 47
sponsor: Benjamin Henneberg (concession 14)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Panorama of the Bernese Alps
Turkish Village
Official Guide No. 39-46
sponsor: Elia-Souhami, Sadullah & Company (concession 3); Robert Levy
architect: J. A. Thain of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Turkish Village
continued at the right (“West End of Midway Plaisance”)
West End of Midway Plaisance
Street in Cairo and Temple of Luxor
Official Guide No. 12
sponsor: Egypt-Chicago Exposition Company (concession 4)
architects: Max Herz and Henry Ives Cobb
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Street in Cairo and Temple of Luxor
Zoopraxographical Hall / Pompeii Theater
Zoopraxographical Hall
sponsor: Eadweard Muybridge (concession 48)
architect: Thomas Wing of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about Zoopraxographical Hall
Zoopraxographical Hall was replaced by the
Pompeii Theater and Panorama
also called the Last Days of Pompeii
Official Guide No. 11
sponsor: G. Pandofelli (concession 237)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Pompeii Theater
Persian Palace / Persian Theater and Bazaar
Official Guide No. 13
sponsor: Elia-Souhami, Sadullah & Company (concession 51; this may be the Persian Tent inside the Turkish Village); Georges E. Khourie
architect: W. E. Paseo
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Persian Palace
Eiffel Tower Model
Official Guide No. 14
sponsor: C. du Pasquiere/Pasquier (concession 117)
architect: Tanty & Youngberg
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Eiffel Tower Model
U.S. Custom Office
German Wienerwurst House / Triacca Restaurant
Official Guide No. 38
sponsor: Franz Triacca (concession 102)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Triacca Restaurant
Moorish Palace
Official Guide No. 37
sponsor: Columbian Moorish Palace Company (concession 13)
architect: August Fiedler of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Moorish Palace
Tree of Wonder / Camera Obscura
Official Guide No. 36
sponsor: Carl Memethy and Adolph Gaul
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Camera Obscura
Algerian and Tunisian Village
Official Guide No. 16
sponsor: A. Siflico and Ela Gannon (concession 28)
architect: Alexander Sandier of Paris
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Algerian and Tunisian Village
East Indian Bazaar / East Indian Palace
Official Guide No. 18
sponsor: Ardeshir & Byramji (concession 172 “East India Wares”) or S. J. Tellery (concession 142 “East India Ware”)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the East Indian Bazaar
Ferris Wheel
Official Guide No. 15
sponsor: The Ferris Wheel Company (concession 58)
engineers: George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., and Luther V. Rice
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Ferris Wheel
Vienna Cafe
Official Guide No. 17
sponsor: Koenig & Griesser (concession 81)
architect: William/Wilhelm Griesser
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Vienna Cafe
Parisian Art Glassware Company / Glass Spinning
Official Guide No. 35
sponsor: Auguste Leroy (concession 162 “French Glassware”)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about Parisian Art Glass
Ice Railway and Skating Rink
Official Guide No. 33
sponsor: John C. De La Vergne & Thomas Rankin of New York (concession 61)
architect: Weber & Drosser
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Ice Railway
(unknown)
(unknown)
St. Peter’s Model
Official Guide No. 34
sponsor: Ludovic de Spiridon of Rome (concession 86)
architect: Solon S. Beman
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about St. Peter’s Model
French Cider Press
Official Guide No. 32
sponsor: Cottentin & Sieman/Ziemen (concession 71)
architect: J. Campbell Rogers of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the French Cider Press
Fire and Guard Station No. 6
sponsor: managed by the Fire Department
architect: Charles B. Atwood
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Fire Department
Clow Toilet Rooms
sponsor: managed by the Clow Sanitary Company
architect: Charles B. Atwood
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Clow Sanitary Company
Volcano of Kilauea Cyclorama
Official Guide No. 19
sponsor: Lorrin A. Thurston (concession 24)
architect: J. K. Cady of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Volcano of Kilauea Cyclorama
American Indian Village
Official Guide No. 20
sponsor: T. R. Roddy (concession 248)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the American Indian Village
Combination Booth
Chinese Village and Theater / Joss House
Official Guide No. 21
sponsor: The Wah Mee Company; W. F. White (concession 33)
architect: Horatio R. Wilson and Oliver W. Marble of Wilson & Marble
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Chinese Village
Austrian Village / Old Vienna
Official Guide No. 31
sponsor: Old Vienna at Chicago Company (concession 182)
architect: William/Wilhelm Griesser
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Austrian Village (Old Vienna)
Captive Balloon Ride
Official Guide No. 22
sponsor: American Captive Balloon Company
architect: August Fiedler of Chicago
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Captive Balloon
Brazilian Concert Hall
Official Guide No. 23
sponsor: A. P. de la Riberio (concession 161 “Brazilian Exhibit”)
architect: Reuben Albert Denell of D. H. Burnham & Co.
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Brazilian Concert Hall
Ostrich Farm
Official Guide No. 24
sponsor: The American Ostrich Company (concession 223); A. J. Johnston, manager
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Ostrich Farm
Dahomey Village
Official Guide No. 30
sponsor: Xavier Pene (concession 20)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Dahomey Village
Lapland Village
Official Guide No. 29
sponsor: Lapland Village Exhibition Company of Chicago (concession 133); Patrick H. Coney (President)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Lapland Village
Sitting Bull’s Cabin
Official Guide No. 25
sponsor: P. B. Wickham of Mandan, North Dakota (concession 253)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about Sitting Bull’s Cabin
Clow Toilet Rooms
sponsor: managed by the Clow Sanitary Company
architect: Charles B. Atwood
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Clow Sanitary Company
Hungarian Café and Concert Pavilion
Also called the National Hungarian Orpheum
Official Guide No. 28
sponsor: Hungarian Cafe Company (concession 31)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the National Hungarian Orpheum
Bedouin Camp
Also called the Wild East Show or the Ottoman Hippodrome
Official Guide No. 27
sponsor: S. K. Bistani / P. K. Bristani (concession 257)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Bedouin Camp / Wild East Show
Barre Sliding Railway (did not open)
sponsor: Barre Sliding Railway Company (concession 1)
MORE INFORMATION
Posts about the Barre Sliding Railway
SOURCES
Burnham, Daniel H. Final Official Report of the Director of Works of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Garland Pub., 1989.
Dedicatory and Opening Ceremonies of the World’s Columbian Exposition. A. L. Stone, 1893.
Flinn, John J. Official Guide to Midway Plaisance (August 10, 1893 edition). Columbian Guide Co., 1893.
Johnson, Rossiter A History of the World’s Columbian Exposition Volume 2 – Departments. D. Appleton and Co., 1897.
For more about the Midway:
Bolotin, Norman with Christine Laing Chicago’s Grand Midway: A Walk around the World at the Columbian Exposition. University of Illinois Press, 2017.
Gale, Neil The Midway Plaisance at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Lulu, 2017.