RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Hunt Ball (p. 36)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 36 – THE HUNT BALL "THE HUNT BALL. "—Among the hundreds of magnificent paintings exhibited in the Art Palace, the work of artists widely renowned in their special fields, certain pictures had always a throng about them from morning until mght. Among these was one, which, from its intrinsic merit, even beyond its size and brilliant coloring, attracted a continuous group of delighted visitors. It was "The Hunt Ball," the work of Jules L. Stewart. It would be difficult, certainly, to imagine a scene more full of brightness and the [...]
April 25, 2018 (Reno, NV): 1893 World’s Mini-Fair at the National Automobile Museum
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is coming to Reno, Nevada, for three days in April. The National Automobile Museum, is holding its 14th annual History Symposium on April 25, 26, and 28, with a theme of “The 1890s: Peril and Power.” The Museum will host national and local authors and historians who will address the winds of change that marked the 1890s. A special highlight of this year’s symposium is a mini-version of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The Museum invites visitors to “journey through a new age of discovery as you enjoy activity stations throughout the museum. Interactive, [...]
In Like a Lion
The month of March, the saying goes, comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” Lions—both real and plaster—could be found at several locations around the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. One example is Lions by German sculptor M. Arthur Waagen. This set of four lion sculptures adorned the base of the obelisk, which stood in the center of the Colonnade in the South Canal, between Machinery Hall and the Agricultural Building. The Chicago Daily Tribune (“By Rush and Chisel: Sculptors and Painters Who Have Decorated the Fair” November 27, 1892) described the animal sculpture [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Fisheries Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 – THE FISHERIES BUILDING THE FISHERIES BUILDING.—Quite unlike any other structure on the grounds, yet so situated and so constructed as to blend with the harmonious whole of the Exposition, the Fisheries Building afforded a striking example of an obstacle overcome by architectural genius. The space allotted to the Fisheries was irregular in form, and in what was considered an unpromising locality, but the novel building erected was as symmetrical in ground plan as striking in exterior treatment. The greatest length was three hundred and sixty-five feet, the terminal pavilions [...]
March 16, 2018: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop
If you love learning about the history of the 1893 World’s Fair, are passionate about Chicago architecture, enjoy puzzles, and want to stretch your legs, then don’t miss out on “Glitz, Glamour…and Panic! A Hunt for the History of 1893 in Chicago.” Atlas Obscura Chicago Field Agent Patti Swanson is once again hosting her "Google-proof" scavenger hunt in the Chicago Loop on Friday, March 16, 2018. You will meet on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago (née World’s Congress Auxiliary Building), next to Edward Kemeys' lions, where Patty will hand your team a set of clues built [...]
May 29, 2018: Chicago History Museum Celebrates the 1893 Fair
"The Ferris Wheel Waltz-Polka" sheet music. [Image from Johns Hopkins University.] To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, the Chicago History Museum (CHM) is hosting a talk by Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, on May 29 at the museum. Prof. Meyer’s digitization project to preserve sheet music associated with the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago includes an online archive of recordings, sheet music scores and lyrics. An associated musical album, which we reviewed here, has been released by Lake Forest College Press. “The 125th Anniversary of The World’s Columbian Exposition: [...]
Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
March, waltz, polka, and hoochie koochie your way back to the 1893 World’s Fair with Souvenir Music from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, a new recording of vintage sheet music from Lake Forest College Press. Donald C. Meyer, Professor of Music at Lake Forest College, has assembled a fascinating collection of 18 pieces of music written for or about the Columbian Exposition. A trio of musicians (pianist Chris White, violinist Kate Carter, and baritone Brad Jungwirth) perform the sheet music scores. Except for a few popular songs included, most of these pieces have not before been recorded, and [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Massachusetts Building (p. 35)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 35 - THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING.—Typical of the history and character of the Old Bay State was the Massachusetts Building, which stood just east of New York on the broad roadway leading east from the Fifty-seventh street entrance to the grounds. It was in the old Colonial style and, as nearly as was practicable, a duplicate of the historic John Hancock residence which, until within comparatively recent years, was one of Boston's landmarks. The building was three-stories in height, the exterior of staff an imitation of cut granite [...]
Happy Birthday to Architect Robert Peabody
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Robert Swain Peabody on February 22, 1845. Peabody was a cofounder of the Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns, designer of Machinery Hall (also known as the Palace of Mechanical Arts) and the Massachusetts Pavilion for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Architects invited by Daniel Burnham to contribute building for the World's Columbian Exposition gathered in Chicago on January 10, 1891. Robert S. Peabody traveled from the east coast with Richard M. Hunt, and George B. Post. Henry Van Brunt came from Kansas City. Chicago architects included Dankmar [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Egyptian Dancing Girls (p. 34)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWSPage 34 – EGYPTIAN DANCING GIRLSEGYPTIAN DANCING GIRLS.—That prominent feature of the Midway Plaisance, a Street in Cairo, had a theatre among its attractions, and what doubtless drew most visitors to this place of entertainment, was the performance of the Egyptian Dancing Girls. The illustration gives excellent portraits of the three dusky beauties who were most prominent there, and shows also the semi-Oriental costume in which they danced. Of the performance it may be said that it was something entirely new in America and something not likely to become acclimatized. Suggestive it [...]