RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
Apr. 29, 2020: A Tale of Two Fairs (Chicago Architecture Center)
Forty years after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago again hosted the world for the Century of Progress. Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) docent Ellen Shubart will compare the two—and explain why one is talked about so much more often than the other today—in a video lecture "A Tale of Two Fairs" at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. The program will be hosted on Zoom; registered guests will receive an email directly from Zoom on the day of the program with details about how to access and view it. The cost is $8 for the public and free [...]
May 6, 2020: Women of the 1893 World’s Fair (Chicago Architecture Center)
Several women played significant roles in making the 1893 World’s Fair a spectacularly grand affair. Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) docent Kathleen Carpenter will introduce you to these remarkable women artists, activists, and achievers in a video lecture "Women of the 1893 World's Fair" at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The program will be hosted on Zoom; registered guests will receive an email directly from Zoom on the day of the program with details about how to access and view it. The cost is $8 for the public and free for CAC members. For more information and a [...]
Ferris Wheel History from “Popular Science” Magazine
Popular Science magazine offers a "shockingly sad (and short) origin story" of the Ferris Wheel in their article "There was only ever one true Ferris Wheel, and we blew it up"
A Tribute to Harlow N. Higinbotham, President of the World’s Columbian Exposition
On April 18, 1919, the former president of the World’s Columbian Exposition met a tragic death. Harlow N. Higinbotham was visiting New York to “meet the boys” of Illinois who had recently returned from serving in the U.S. military during the Great War. The eighty-year-old Chicagoan set out from his residence at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Central Park to the New York headquarters of the Illinois Soldiers' Welcome Committee at 107 East 34th Street. Along the way, he stepped into the street at Madison Avenue and 45th Street and was struck by a U.S. Army ambulance that hurled him [...]
Video of “Eternal Light: The Sacred Stained-Glass Windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany” at the Driehaus Museum
“Eternal Light: The Sacred Stained-Glass Windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany” at the Driehaus Museum features items exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Apr. 18, 2020: Women of the 1893 World’s Fair (Chicago Architecture Center)
Several women played significant roles in making the 1893 World’s Fair a spectacularly grand affair. Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) docent Kathleen Carpenter will introduce you to these remarkable women artists, activists, and achievers in a video lecture "Women of the 1893 World's Fair" at 1 pm on Saturday, April 18, 2020. The program will be hosted on Zoom; registered guests will receive an email directly from Zoom on the day of the program with details about how to access and view it. The cost is $8 for the public and free for CAC members. For more information and a [...]
Stay Home. Stay Safe.
Stay Home. Stay Safe.
CANCELLED May 9, 2020: Devil in the White City Bus Tour
Experience the murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America on a 4-hour bus tour offered by the Chicago History Museum on Saturday, May 9, 2020, starting at 1 pm. Inspired by Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries), this tour will take you back to 1893 with historian Al Walavich, to follow the trails of Daniel Burnham and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. Visit the historic fairgrounds, the Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, and discover what has become an iconic Chicago story. Tickets are $55 ($45 for CHM members) and available for purchase [...]
98. Picturesque World’s Fair – Kaleife and his Dromedary
KALEIFE AND HIS DROMEDARY.—The Bedouin and the dromedary, "the ship of the desert," were very much in evidence at the Ottoman's Arab camp, or "Wild East Show ' The "ship" when under full sail around the encampment was gorgeously decorated, and his driver was not less brightly appareled. Why in a region as warm as the desert is supposed to be so much covering should be deemed a necessity is hard to say, but on all state occasions both the Arabs and their beasts were burdened with a great deal of what was gaudy but not neat. There was [...]
Spring 2020 Trivia Question
Our seasonal newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The Spring 2020 Trivia Question Who was the "Tiger King" of the 1893 World's Fair? A. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. B. Francis Millet C. P. T. Barnum D. Carl Hagenbeck E. George R. Davis Many readers knew that the correct answer is Carl Hagenbeck, proprietor of Hagenbeck’s Wild Animal Arena and Museum (among other names) on the Midway Plaisance. “Tiger King,” of course, is moniker attributed to a fascinating/freaky [...]