RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
The most admired and the most criticized of the sculpture at the 1893 World’s Fair
Daniel Chester French’s Statue of the Republic … “was the most admired and the most criticized of the sculpture at the World’s Fair—admired because of its magnificent proportions and criticized by many artists because they claimed to see nothing artistic in a female figure with both arms raised. Its fate as a work of art was sealed when some unkind critic saw in the rear elevation of the figure the semblance of a washerwoman hanging out clothes.” Ouch. © worldsfairchicago1893.com SOURCE “Last of the Republic” Chicago Record Aug. 28, 1896, p. 1.
Columbian Cocktails at The Meadowlark in Chicago
A secret bar sits along a quiet side street in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, nestled inside an unassuming brick building. Look for the door underneath the small bird cut-out sign and step inside the dimly lit vintage lounge. The menu offers many splendid options for craft cocktail aficionados … and a special treat for Columbian Exposition enthusiasts. Last summer, The Meadowlark launched an 1893 World’s Fair themed menu titled “The Magic City: Celebrating 130 Years Since the Chicago World’s Fair.” In a handsome, forty-page hardcover booklet, Beverage Director Abe Vueekovich offers patrons sixteen drinks relating to buildings and sites [...]
161. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Golden Door, from the Wooded Island
THE GOLDEN DOOR, FROM THE WOODED ISLAND.— Among the great number of photographs, taken from different points of view, of the famous "Golden Door" it is doubtful if any surpassed in charming effect that from which the accompanying illustration is taken. The point afforded on the Wooded Island seems to have been at just the right distance from the Transportation Building and in just the right direction to allow of an absolute presentation of detail, while, at the same time, giving the entire doorway with surroundings enough for an effective setting. The water, the pretty point of miniature beach, [...]
Taking her Valentine to the World’s Fair
From the February 1893 Illustrated World's Fair: TED.—“Kit, can I be your Valentine? I’m savin’ pennies now.” KIT.—“Yes, Ted, if you save enough to take me to the World’s Fair.” ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Help Preserve the Maine State Building from the 1893 World’s Fair
The Maine State Building, designed by architect Charles Sumner Frost, is one of the few remaining buildings from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After the close of the fair, the Ricker family of Poland Spring, Maine, purchased the building from the state. They had it dismantled, moved to Maine, and rebuilt on Poland Spring property, where it reopened in 1895 as a library and art gallery for their hotel guests. (Read the history here.) The building remains open to the public today and houses a fascinating museum of 1893 World’s Fair materials. The Maine Building needs a [...]
Feb 7, 2023: The Viking Ship and the Chicago World’s Fair (online)
Learn about the "Viking Ship and the Chicago World's Fair" at a webinar by Timothy Boyce hosted by NorCham Chicago in collaboration with the Friends of the Viking Ship. This free event will be held vis Zoom on Wednesday, February 7, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Please register at: https://www.norchamchicago.org/events/the-viking-ship-and-the-chicago-worlds-fair-1
A Brief History of the Midway Plaisance
The Chicago Maroon student newspaper has published a brief history of the Midway Plaisance that runs through the University of Chicago campus. Feifei Mei’s “From Mudway Nuisance to Midway Plaisance” explores the mile-long park (not owned by the University) from Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux’s original design and name, its use as the entertainment district for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, evolution in the hands of the Chicago Park District, and modern road safety issues. A view west on the Midway Plaisance, with the Panorama of the Bernese Alps and Turkish Village on the left and the [...]
A Columbian Exposition jigsaw puzzle oddity
As January 29 is National Puzzle Day, let’s take a look at an unusual jigsaw puzzle depicting the 1893 World’s Fair. A jigsaw puzzle titled "The 1893 World's Fair" from the Nice Card Company shows an impossible view of MacMonnies Fountain and the Agricultural Building. Produced by the Nice Card Company, “The 1893 World’s Fair” is a 500-piece, 18-by-24-inch jigsaw puzzle. The assembled image is a photograph of the front part of MacMonnies Fountain on the west end of the Court of Honor. The view, however, is impossible … and it was just this problem that caused [...]
Jan-Dec, 2024: Dress worn at the 1893 World’s Fair on Display (Ripon, WI)
The small city of Ripon, Wisconsin, sent 1,375 of its citizens to experience the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This was one-third of the city’s population at that time, reports the Ripon Press. A dress worn by one Ripon visitor to the World's Fair is a part of the collection at the Ripon Historical Society and is on display through the end of 2024 as part of its “The Stories We Wear” exhibit. The Society, located at 508 Watson Street in Ripon, is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm. Ripon was the birthplace of [...]
160. Picturesque World’s Fair – Entrance to Fisheries Arcade
ENTRANCE TO FISHERIES ARCADE.—The Fisheries Building, because of the peculiar form of the site to which it was relegated, consisted of a rectangular central structure connected by curved arcades with circular pavilions on either side. The view here given is that of an entrance to one of the connecting arcades, and affords an excellent idea of the graceful and novel decoration resorted to in this structure, together with an example of mechanical duty performed too well. The columns of the structure were decorated, as befitted its uses, with all sorts of water creatures, arranged in quaint devices, and the [...]