RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
25 Impressions of the 1893 World’s Fair
Toward the close of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, The Critic invited twenty-five notable scholars, writers, and leaders of the day to offer their brief impressions of the World’s Fair. At such a monumental event with so many novelties … what impressed them the most? It is interesting how frequently these contributors sing the same notes as they rhapsodize about the fairgrounds at night and the illumination of the Court of Honor, praise (except for Henry Fuller!) the polite comportment of visitors, and lament the imminent loss of the White City architecture. The exhibition palaces impressed far [...]
Seeing the Solar Eclipse of 1893 at the World’s Fair
Did you see it? Viewers on April 8, 2024, snapped countless millions of photographs of the solar eclipse. For the total solar eclipse of April 16, 1893—visible in South America and Africa—only a handful of photographs were taken. At least one made it into a display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. A photograph of the April 1893 solar eclipse, exhibited in the California State Building at the 1893 World's Fair. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.] World’s Fair historian Hubert Bancroft provides this description of an eclipse [...]
163. Picturesque World’s Fair – The German Porcelain Display
THE GERMAN PORCELAIN DISPLAY.—What proved one of the greatest attractions to art lovers who visited the German section in the Manufactures Building was the wonder-ful porcelain display. No collection of just the same character and quality had ever before been seen in the United States, nor, indeed, elsewhere, and a delighted throng was con-stantly examining this portion of Germany's fine exhibit. The illustration affords a good idea of the general style of arrangement, something devised by the most famous of Berlin decorators, and commanding no little praise, quite apart from the quality of the articles displayed. As for the [...]
The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
“However grand, complete and astonishing the World's Fair may appear to the public by daylight, it is at night that it can be seen in all its splendor and magnificence,” wrote the World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated [read the article here]. Another description of the nightly illumination of the Court of Honor comes from the newspaper story reprinted below, originally from an (unknown) Chicago newspaper. Turning Day into Night “After dark at the World's Fair will be one of the things that scribes and chroniclers will never be tired of describing. When even the garish splendor of the transportation building [...]
In All Its Splendor and Magnificence: The World’s Fair at Night
The illumination of the White City evoked awe and wonder among visitors to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. “Nothing earthly can ever exceed this; man has reached high, higher, his fingers have almost touched the bars of heaven,” wrote Mrs. D. C. Taylor in her memoir Halcyon Days in the Dream City. [Read the full work here.] Reprinted below is a description of the fairgrounds at night published in the World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated. The World’s Fair at Night However grand, complete and astonishing the World's Fair may appear to the public by daylight, it is at night that [...]
“A character of its own”: The Chicago Public Library of 1893
Celebrate libraries! April 3 is National Library Giving Day and April 6 is National Library Day. Consider making a donation to the Chicago Public Library or another of your choice. Dr. Emil G. Hirsch, President of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Public Library, spoke with pride about his institution at the 1893 World’s Fair. He addressed the Congress of Librarians—which merged with the annual meeting of the American Library Association as part of the Congress on Literature, which was part of the World’s Congress Auxiliary (These people were organized!)—on July 14, 1893. World’s Fair historian Rossiter Johnson [...]
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Third Prize
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Third Prize “Yesterday at the Exposition [From the Times-Herald, June 27, 2000]” by L. Frank Baum Continued from: Introduction First Prize: “Chicago’s World’s Fair, A.D. 2000” by Percival Owen Second Prize: “Greatest of All” by Mary F. Arnold Yesterday was a busy day at the exposition. The pneumatic cars[1] were discharged from the Lake Front Station at intervals of one minute the entire day, and every carriage was packed. One car, indeed, became inverted, but so rapid was the transit that the passengers were unaware of the fact until they arrived [...]
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Second Prize
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Second Prize “Greatest of All” by Mary F. Arnold Continued from: Introduction First Prize: “Chicago’s World’s Fair, A.D. 2000” by Percival Owen They were smartly clad in knickerbockers and silk jackets, the latter slashed and trimmed with soft brown leather, buttoned to their throats. Each wore a belt, leggings and shoes of the brown leather and a brown sailor hat. The girl wore, also, a short silk skirt reaching to her knees, and wore her hair down her back in two heavy braids. The man carried a small satchel. They were [...]
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: First Prize
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: First Prize “Chicago’s World’s Fair, A.D. 2000” by Percival Owen Continued from: Introduction The exposition was held on Lake Michigan. It was at first proposed to stand Lake Michigan on end, as was done with Lake Cayuga at the Ithaca fair of 1992.[1] The sail to Mackinaw would then have been a feature, as Hudson’s Bay and the Rocky Mountains would have been in sight; but space for buildings would then have had to be provided on shore, so this plan was given up. The exposition grounds extend for twenty miles [...]
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Introduction
Fair of the Future—Chicago’s International Exposition, A.D. 2000: Introduction “If you don’t think about the future, you cannot have one.” —English novelist John Galsworthy To celebrate the upcoming opening of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the American Press Association solicited prognostication by notable people as they looked one hundred years into the future. The series, which ran in newspapers in early 1893, included essays by distinguished thinkers of the day such as populist politician William Jennings Bryan, industrialist George Westinghouse, orator and politician Chauncey Depew, author and publisher Kate Field, humorist Bill Nye, and 69 other commentors. David Walter [...]