RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
June 25, 2019: World’s Fair Auction #34 closes
Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #34, now open for preview. Online bidding closes on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at 10 PM EDT. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 19 through 55 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include several products commemorating various building of the White City: • a demitasse satuma cup with pictures of Machinery Hall and the U.S. Government Building; • a "World's Fair Prize Puzzle" word puzzle, with box; • a round metal box with die cut raised image of the Illinois State Building on [...]
“The couple gasped in horrified surprise.” Nude Art at the 1893 World’s Fair
The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago exposed visitors to a new world. Many experienced what has been described as the "shock of the new” when facing awesome technological advances and the rich variety of human cultures on exhibition. Others felt a shock just from seeing the human form openly displayed. “No one can help noticing the frankness and more than pagan un-reserve with which contemporary artists are treating the nude, both in painting and in sculpture.” wrote Julian Hawthorne in his critique of the art exhibits at the Fair. “It is a wholesome change. Self-consciousness only can be immodest.” Not everyone [...]
June 14-July 7, 2019: “White City Murder” takes the stage in Indianapolis
Eric Larson’s fascinating best-seller The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (2003) introduced many to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. For better or for worse, his pairing of the story of building the World’s Fair in Jackson Park and the exploits of serial killer H. H. Holmes in nearby Englewood has made an enduring connection between the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and murder. [For the record: no known murders occurred on the fairgrounds.] A comedic twist on this pairing is coming in the form of a new musical opening on [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Columbian Fountain from the Rear (p. 80)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 80 – COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN FROM THE REAR COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN FROM THE REAR.— Father Time became a familiar figure during the Fair to the hosts who gathered about the music stands on the eastern part of the Grand Plaza, for the barge of the Columbian Fountain rode stern on to the plaza and Time was at the barge's helm. The illustration is an excellent one of the fountain from the rear and is as attractive, as were views taken from other points, of that splendid work of art. Grasping his [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Victoria House (p. 79)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 78 – VICTORIA HOUSE VICTORIA HOUSE.—Great Britain's Building, known as Victoria House, was hardly what might have been expected from the Mother Country. It cost $80,000, was not a particularly imposing structure, though by no means ungraceful, and was closed to the public most of the time. It occupied a charming position on the lake front, being the only structure east of the Lake Promenade. It was a Gothic, half timber house, in the style of Henry VIII., with overhanging gables and a tiled roof. Terra cotta was much [...]
“She has waxed bigger and uglier than ever.” An Englishman’s View of 1893 Chicago
Mr. Harry Hems of Exeter, England, submitted the following report on his return visit to Chicago for the opening of the 1893 World’s Fair. At the Exposition, he worked in the British section of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. His unflattering missive from May 15, 1893, about “the most dangerous town in the world” was reprinted in the June 1 issue of the Irish Builder. Let’s hope the rest of Mr. Hems’ time at the Chicago fair left a better impression. THE “WORLD'S FAIR," CHICAGO. The following, from the pen of Mr. Harry Hems, Exeter, appeared in the [...]
Happy Mother’s Day. Enjoy some Sunshine and Flowers.
Sunshine and Flowers by Irving R. Wiles was exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair. [Image from Art of the World Illustrated in the paintings, statuary, and architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition Volume II, edited by Ripley Hitchcock (Appleton, 1893).] Mother and child are featured Sunshine and Flowers, a painting by American artist Irving Ramsey Wiles exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair. The oil painting hung on the north wall of Gallery 6 (United States section) in the Palace of Fine Arts. This description of the painter and composition comes from Art of the World Illustrated in the [...]
White City Walking Tours 2019
There is something magical about walking through Jackson Park and thinking about how this was the center of the world for six months in 1893. On the surface there is little left of the White City, except for the some of the main landscaping features and a rebuilt Art Palace that now serves as the Museum of Science and Industry. But with an expert tour guide, the grandeur of the Dream City on the Lake resurfaces in the mind’s eye. Ray Johnson has renewed his “Friends of the White City Tours” of Jackson Park for 2019, offered every Saturday from [...]
June 14, 2019: “The Devil’s Ball” at the Auditorium Theater (Chicago)
An evening inspired by the 1893 World’s Fair takes the stage at the historic Auditorium Theatre on Friday, June 14, 2019. The Auxiliary Board’s annual Devil’s Ball promises to be “a night of devilishly good fun” that features a premium open bar with beer, wine, and cocktails; heavy hors d’oeuvres featuring global cuisine; and dancing on the stage that has hosted artists and performers for 130 years. Designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, the Auditorium was the nation's largest structure when it opened in 1889. At the grand opening of the Auditorium Building, held on December 9, President Benjamin [...]
June 2, 2019: “When the World Came to Chicago: The 1893 Columbian Exposition” at Elmhurst History Museum
In conjunction with their new exhibit “Worlds of Wonder: Remembering Chicagoland's Amusement Parks” the Elmhurst History Museum is hosting an event focused on the 1893 World’s Fair. “When the World Came to Chicago: The 1893 Columbian Exposition” is offered at the Museum on June 2, 2019, from 2-3 p.m. The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is often credited with putting Chicago on the international map, and citizens have long been fascinated with the fascinating details of this amazing fair that welcomed more than 27 million visitors. Al Walavich, a lifelong Chicagoan, local historian, and collector will share stories about the planning, [...]