RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
Dec. 9, 2018: Hyde Park Historical Society book discussion (Chicago)
On Sunday, December 9, the Hyde Park Historical Society will host Chicago Historian Andrew Taylor Call, who will discuss his new book Chicago: A Civic, Industrial, and Familial History. Among the many topic covered in his book are the construction technologies used to build the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the social and civic development of Jackson Park. The event runs from 11 am to 2 pm at 5529 Lake Park Blvd. Light Refreshments will be served; copies of the new book will be for sale and the author will be available to sign copies.
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Looking Northeast from the Government Building (p. 70)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 70 – LOOKING NORTHEAST FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING LOOKING NORTHEAST FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING.—From the roof of the Government Building, looking northeast, a view was afforded of a portion of the North Inlet, the elevated railway a group of prominent structures and of Lake Michigan beyond. Conspicuous in the foreground on the right is a portion of the Life Saving Station, the inlet upon which it was located connecting with the lake a little further to the east. On the left, the north loop of the electric road is [...]
Dec. 8: 125th Anniversary Celebration at the Art Institute of Chicago
December 8 is a full day for Columbian Exposition enthusiasts in Chicago! If you don’t already plan to attend the World’s Fair symposium at the Newberry Library or the talk on the White City at the Bezazian Library, you can check out the 125th anniversary celebration at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). To celebrate their anniversary, the AIC invites everyone to join in a recreation of this 1893 opening day photo from their archives. Just meet at the Michigan Avenue front steps of the museum, between the Edward Kemeys' iconic lions, “On the prowl” and “Stands in an [...]
Columbian Coin Collectors
Ginger Rapsus's article "Key year for coin collectors is 1893" in Numismatic News (posted November 17, 2018) states that among the many souvenirs produced for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, "perhaps the best known of the souvenirs are two of the first classic commemorative coins." About the Columbian half dollar, Rapsus writes that "a good number of these coins did not sell and eventually were melted or entered circulation, sometimes turning up in change or in a bank roll. I know of two collectors who found these half dollars searching bank rolls." The other commemorative coin was the Isabella quarter, which Rapsus notes was [...]
Dec. 8, 2018: The White City and the Building of the Fair at Bezazian Library (Chicago)
Chicago historian and tour guide Al Walavich will present a talk on “The World's Columbian Exposition: The White City and the Building of the Fair” at the Bezazian Library (1226 W Ainslie St. in Chicago) at 10 AM on December 8, 2018. Walavich will explore how the White City came to be during this social and political history talk in recognition of the 125th anniversary of the World's Columbian exposition.
Happy Turkey Day to our readers!
We wish you and yours a joyous Thanksgiving! We give thanks for the wonderful friends and Columbian Exposition enthusiasts whom we have met through worldsfairchicago1893.com this past year and look forward to continued exploration of the fairgrounds with you in the coming months. Speaking of turkey ... our monthly newsletter puzzle for November asked readers: Which of the Great Buildings in the White City featured a ring of ornamental turkey sculptures on its roof? The answer can be found here. Where could you find this turkey (and friends) at the 1893 World's Fair?
November 2018 Trivia Question
Our monthly 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 November 2018 Trivia Question Which of the Great Buildings in the White City featured a ring of ornamental turkey sculptures on its roof? A. the Transportation Building B. the Agricultural Building C. the U.S. Government Building D. the Palace of Poultry The answer is B. A ring of turkeys decorated the dome of the Agricultural Building, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White. Many Americans thought that [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The New York Building (p. 69)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 69 – THE NEW YORK BUILDING THE NEW YORK BUILDING.—Ranking nearly with that of Illinois, the New York Building was probably first in point of originality of light design and unique attractiveness of interior. It occupied a space two hundred and fourteen feet in length by one hundred and forty-two in depth, and was not quite one hundred feet in height to the apex of its towers. Its cost was $77,000. It was designed simply as an elaborately decorated and richly finished summer palace. A flight of fourteen steps, [...]
Dec. 8, 2018: “Chicago’s Two World’s Fairs” Symposium at the Newberry Library (Chicago)
The Newberry Library’s Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World's Fair includes a series of rich programs about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. On Saturday, December 8, 2018, the Newberry will host a symposium titled “Chicago’s Two World’s Fairs” featuring a morning program on the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and afternoon speakers discussing the Century of Progress International Exposition of 1933-34. Columbian Exposition presentations run from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and features these speakers and topics: Sarah Burns, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Thomas Hovenden, Breaking Home Ties, and Culture Wars in the White City of 1893” about that artist's sensational [...]
Veteran’s Days at the 1893 World’s Fair
Today marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the end of the Great War, when hostilities ceased on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. This anniversary is now commemorated in the United States as Veteran’s Day, a time to honor American veterans, both living and dead. The day was originally known--and still is to many--as Armistice Day, for reflecting on how we can achieve peace. Among the scores of “special days” at the World’s Columbian Exposition during the summer of 1893 was a series of days intended to honor veterans. These “Veterans Days” were [...]