RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
Mar. 3, 2021: Columbian Exposition Museum Auction
Hundreds of items relating to Christopher Columbus and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago will hit the auction block on March 3, 2021. The collectibles come from the Christopher Columbus Museum in Columbus, Wisconsin, and include 1893 World's Fair books, tickets, stereoview cards, souvenir coins and ribbons, and an amazing one-of-a-kind, hand-made mechanical model of the Ferris Wheel. The sale will be conducted by Beloit Auction and Realty at 534 W. Grand Avenue in Beloit, WI. An online catalog and instructions for bidding can be found at https://www.beloitauction.com/auctions/detail/bw58967 A hand-made mechanical model of the Ferris Wheel. [Image [...]
113. Picturesque World’s Fair – North Front of the French Building
NORTH FRONT OF THE FRENCH BUILDING.—The French Building at the Exposition consisted, practically, of two parts connected by a semi-circular colonnade. Of these the one to the north, a facade of which appears in the illustration, was the larger and more important. Built in the Renaissance style and richly decorated, it was a beautiful object in its conspicuous position at the junction of the main east and west thoroughfare across the grounds and the lake front Promenade. A large and exceedingly graceful group of statuary, representing " Liberty, Equality and Fraternity," was a prominent feature of the decoration of [...]
Chicago Statues from the 1893 World’s Fair Under Scrutiny
The City of Chicago has announced the beginning of a process to review forty-one statues, monuments, murals, and plaques in the city that have been “identified for public discussion.” The list includes four statues that have a direct connection to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago: The Republic by Daniel Chester French https://chicagomonuments.org/monuments/the-republic This 1918 smaller replica of the original 1893 Statue of the Republic by Daniel Chester French is an enduring icon of the World’s Fair in Chicago. The "Golden Lady" stands in a traffic circle in Jackson Park close to where the Administration Building once stood. [...]
“Devil in the White City” Update from Eric Larson
In an interview with The Naples Daily, Eric Larson offers this status report on the adaptation of his The Devil in the White City. “It’s slated to be a Hulu series. DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are still involved, I believe, but as executive producers. I don’t think DiCaprio has any intention of playing the killer Holmes, as was originally contemplated. The saga of adapting Devil for film or TV has been a long one. I’m not holding my breath, and not putting any down payments on a villa in the South of France, but I’m looking forward to going [...]
Mar. 2, 2021: World’s Fair Auction #38 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #38, now open for preview. Online bidding closes at 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 20 through 92 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: a "World's Fair 1893" turquoise art glass creamer, an Agricultural Building china vase, and a Machinery Hall china plate; Machinery Hall cuff links; Columbian Exposition playing cards and an incomplete "Game of 'World's Fair"; a letter from the Department of Publicity and [...]
112. Picturesque World’s Fair – A Group of Singhalese
A GROUP OF SINGHALESE.—The Singhalese seemed to have a good time of it at the World's Fair. Their country was well represented by a charming building and fine exhibit of the products of the land, and the people themselves, in family groups, had both occupation and amusement. The old hymn to the effect that "Ceylon's lovely Isle" is a place where nature has done pretty well and "only man is vile" seemed hardly justified by the appearance or the actions of the Singhalese, who were a particularly quiet and well behaved little community. In the Ceylon Building the tea [...]
Love on the Lagoon at the 1893 World’s Fair
A romantic ride in an authentic Venetian gondola was a dreamy treat for many visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair. Guiding these craft through the Grand Basin and Lagoon were fifty-seven Venetian gondoliers brought from Italy by the World's Fair Venetian Gondola Company of Chicago. A Venetian swan gondola gliding across the South Canal, along the western side of the Agricultural Building at the 1893 World’s Fair. [Image from The Dream City. A Portfolio of Photographic Views of the World’s Columbian Exposition. N. D. Thompson, 1893.] Across the South Pond from their gondola boathouse behind the Agricultural [...]
Mar. 11, 2021: “World’s Fair Archaeology in Jackson Park” (online)
The Chicago Public Library is hosting a presentation about “World's Fair Archaeology in Jackson Park" on March 11, 2021. Rebecca Graff, associate professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College (IL), will discuss her new book Disposing of Modernity and her archaeological digs at the site of Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. This free event takes place online using Zoom from 2-3 PM. Register at least 24 hours before the event at https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/60185f0022fe7d24006eec07 The Ohio State Building, remnants of which lie buried in Jackson Park.
Tom Ripley in the White City?
Sneaky devils. Just days after reporting that Robert Pattison was in talks for the role of (alleged) serial killer H. H. Holmes, Giant Freakin Robot has revealed that Matt Damon is a top choice for the lead role in the Hulu adaptation of Erik Larson’s 2003 bestseller about the 1893 World’s Fair, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. Damon, star of Good Will Hunting (1997), played serial killer Tom Ripley in the psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). How do ya like them apples? Matt Damon as a [...]
Vampire in the White City?
After nearly two years of silence since the February 2019 announcement that Erik Larson’s 2003 bestseller about the 1893 World’s Fair, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, was being developed as a Hulu miniseries, a report on one potential casting has surfaced. Giant Freakin Robot reports that Robert Pattinson currently is in talks for the role of (alleged) serial killer H. H. Holmes in the historical drama. Pattison is known to many as the charming vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series and is just coming off another [...]