RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
Apr. 12–14, 2024: Chicago Steampunk Exposition
What do you get when you combine a World’s Fair with retro-futuristic imagination? Come to the 2024 Chicago Steampunk Exposition to find out! Throughout the weekend of Apr. 12–14, 2024, the Expo will host talks, workshops, activities, and shopping for steampunk enthusiasts who enjoy imagining an alternate World’s Columbian Exposition with Gilded Age gothic adventures. The weekend includes live-action role-playing games, an afternoon tea, and an Artists’ Alley & Printers’ Row marketplace. Be on the lookout for gas lamps, mermaids, dirigibles, and vampires as you explore the fantasy fairgrounds. There are 13 bodies hidden somewhere on the fairgrounds [...]
Mar. 27, 2024: “Love and Laughter: An Evening of Song” (Chicago)
A concert at the University of Chicago on March 27 will include music from a notable 1893 World’s Fair participant. “Love and Laughter: An Evening of Song,” featuring acclaimed baritone Kenneth Overton and internationally recognized pianist Casey Robards, will be a celebration of the rich artistic contributions of Black American composers and poets. The program will include a special performance of a song cycle composed by Anthony Patterson, Robards’ husband, set to the poignant and evocative texts of renowned poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar made his first appearance at the World’s Fair on “Colored People Day” (August 25) through [...]
Mar. 17, 2023: Hyde Park Historical Society Open House (Chicago)
The Hyde Park Historical Society will host their monthly Open House on Saturday March, 17, 2023, with a theme of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Visitors are invited to stop by the headquarters at 5529 S. Lake Park Avenue to learn more about the 1893 World’s Fair that took place in nearby Jackson Park. On display will be books, posters, and coloring book pages. You can also test your knowledge of World’s Fair Trivia (and possibly win a prize!) and sample some snacks that fairgoers enjoyed while visiting the Fair.
Cumberland Gap was passed over for the 1892 World’s Fair
Congressmen filed into the great hall of the U.S. Capitol as the House of Representatives went into session on February 24, 1890. Just after noon, the first order of business was a vote to select a host site for the upcoming World’s Fair, then planned for 1892. Boosters from New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., packed the galleries in nervous anticipation. Support in Congress seemed to be split among the four cities vying for the honor, so no one expected a winner to emerge in this first ballot. Interior view of House chamber during session of [...]
162. Picturesque World’s Fair – On the Short of the North Lagoon
ON THE SHORE OF THE NORTH LAGOON.—There were many charming bits of scenery in the great Exposition grounds, and many novel views which could be enjoyed only from a boat or from points not generally sought by the mass of visitors. One of these views is represented in the accompanying picture, the observer being close to the south shore of the North Lagoon and just east of the strait leading to the bodies of water further south. On the left, in the immediate foreground, is the big Illinois Building, and to the right of that the Indiana Building, with [...]
1893 World’s Columbian Exposition “Construction Team” clothing
None of the thousands of workers who built the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition ever got a souvenir insignia apparel, but that doesn't mean you can't! The Walt Disney Birthplace project offers a "World's Columbian Exposition Construction Team" design as a T-shirt, long-sleeve T, and hoodie: Walt Disney's father, Elias Disney, moved his family to Chicago to find work helping to build the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a world's fair that truly changed the course of history (and no doubt planted the seeds for what would become Disneyland). The apparel can be purchased at https://urshirtingme.com/walt-disney-birthplace-fair-construction/. Every sale [...]
Mar. 7, 2024: “Chicago: City of Influence — Amusement Parks” (Chicago and online)
Chicago for Chicagoans is hosting a presentation on the history of Amusement Parks for the next offering in their “Chicago: City of Influence” lecture series. On Thursday, March 7, speaker Sam Prestigiacomo will discuss the 1893 World’s Fair as the birthplace of many inventions and the inspiration for many entertainment entrepreneurs. The lecture can be attended in person at a hidden speakeasy in Lakeview (Shhhh! It’s Room 13 at the Old Chicago Inn ... but you need a password to enter!) by reserving a ticket here. The lecture also will be streamed live on the Chicago for Chicagoans Facebook [...]
Mar. 23, 2024: “The Remarkable Women Who Helped Build Chicago” (Glen Ellyn, IL)
Women such as Bertha Palmer played a pivotal role in building the 1893 World’s Fair … and building Chicago. The Glen Ellyn Historical Society will host presentation by Laurie Russell on “Behind the Stars: The Remarkable Women Who Helped Build Chicago” on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The stars on the Chicago flag represent four major events that changed Chicago forever (Ft. Dearborn Massacre, Chicago Fire, World’s Columbian Exposition, and Century of Progress World’s Fair.) This presentation examines how women responded to these events, and in the process built the city we know today. The talk includes women who risked [...]
Feb. 27, 2024: “Fantastical Dreamscapes: Architectural Wonders and Innovations at World Expos, 1851 to 1911” (Online)
The Farm House Museum at Iowa State University in Ames is hosting an online talk on the architectural designs and building innovations that shaped the first sixty years of international expositions, including the 1893 World's Fair. University of Arizona Professor of Architectural History Lisa D. Schrenk will present "Fantastical Dreamscapes: Architectural Wonders and Innovations at World Expos, 1851 to 1911" on February 27, 2024, from 5- 6 PM (US Central) via Zoom. Using the link above to register for this free event. This lecture, co-sponsored by The Institute for the Study of International Expositions (ISIE), is part of the [...]
Feb.-Oct., 2024: “World’s Fairs, Expositions, & Centennial Celebrations of the Victorian Era” (Ames, IA)
The Farm House Museum at Iowa State University in Ames is hosting an exhibition on “World's Fairs, Expositions, & Centennial Celebrations of the Victorian Era” from February through October, 2024. This exhibition illustrates through objects and narrative the earliest World’s Fair in 1851 London, through several in Paris, and the Centennial and World’s Columbian Exhibitions in the United States. The University Museums’ permanent collection includes several objects that were souvenirs of some of the fifteen major World’s Fairs or Expositions held between 1851 and 1910. Souvenirs ranged from booklets, paper fans, buttons, and ribbons, to commemorative glassware and ceramics produced [...]