RECENT POSTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION’S BUILDING, FAIRGROUNDS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS, AND PEOPLE.
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. – Dome of Agriculture Building (p. 33)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 31 – DOME of AGRICULTURE BUILDING DOME OF AGRICULTURE BUILDING.—The agriculture department of the World's Columbian Exposition was housed in a palace, for the great building devoted to the purpose was a magnificent structure, both as to dimensions and architectural character. The main building stood beside Lake Michigan its principal facade facing the grand basin in the Court of Honor, full opportunity being thus afforded for the display of its imposing features. The view above given is that of the principal entrance, with the landing for gondolas and electric [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Royal Berlin Porcelain Vase (p. 32)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 31 – ROYAL BERLIN PORCELAIN VASE ROYAL BERLIN PORCELAIN VASE.—There were some very beautiful objects in the porcelain display by Germany, in the Manufactures Building, but easily first was the Royal Porcelain Vase, nine feet in height, which is the subject of this illustration. It was part of the showing made by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Works, which are conducted under government patronage, and was one of the largest, if not the largest, vase of the kind ever made. It may be added that the vase will yet be [...]
Happy National Ferris Wheel Day!
Up 'n' down Ferris wheel Tell me how does it feel To be so high Looking down here. -- Norah Jones "Carnival Town" Grab a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses, because today is ... National Ferris Wheel Day! This annual celebration honors the anniversary of George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.’s birth on February 14, 1859, in Galesburg, Illinois. Ferris, of course, was the engineer who invented the biggest attraction of the 1893 World’s Fair. More than 1.4 million people rode on his great wheel on the Midway Plaisance. The image we offer here is from the Chicago [...]
March 6, 2018: World’s Fair Auction #31 ends
World's Fair Auction #31 is now open for preview and online bidding closes on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/CATALL.CGI
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Interior of “Old Vienna” (p. 31)
Page 31 INTERIOR OF “OLD VIENNA."— From: PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS INTERIOR OF “OLD VIENNA."—To leave the Exposition without having visited the Austrian Village, more widely known as "Old Vienna," was, in the opinion of many people, not to have seen the Fair at all. It was one of the most popular places of resort for the multitude, despite the expensiveness of the luxury, for prices in Old Vienna were "World's Fair prices" indeed. There was a charm about the place, though, this faithful reproduction of "Der Graben" in the Vienna of one hundred and fifty [...]
Mar. 23-Aug. 29, 2018-Exhibit Showcases Mexicans at the 1893 World’s Fair
An upcoming exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago features the early artistic involvement and influence of Mexican immigrants in Chicago beginning with the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Arte Diseño Xicágo: Mexican Inspiration from the World's Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era opens on Friday, March 23, 2018, with a reception from 6–8 pm, and continues through August 19, 2018, in the Main Gallery. One of the earliest proponents of holding a world’s fair to mark the quadricentennial of Columbus’ arrival on the continent was a Mexican physician, Dr. Carlos W. Zaremba, who proposed that [...]
Dominating Objects of Interest: Olmsted and Obama
“How much should the maxims of a 19th-century park designer tie the hands of a 21st-century president?” asks Edward McClelland in his piece “Olmsted vs. Obama: Inside the Pushback Against the Presidential Library” published this week by Chicago Magazine. A whimsical illustration by Graham Roumieu that accompanies the article shows of a ghostly zephyr of Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect of the 1893 World’s Fair, fretting over the fate of his beloved Jackson Park. The article summarizes the positions for and against the (current) plans for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Quoting Olmsted’s philosophy about public parks, [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Interior of the Javanese Theater (p. 30)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 30 INTERIOR OF THE JAVANESE THEATER.—Not a remarkable histrionic production was any play performed in the Javanese Theatre, but it was interesting, as was anything connected with these gentle people. Centrally in the quaint village was a structure, somewhat larger than the others, made of bamboo, thatched in the native style and illuminated at night. From this building emanated the sound of instruments strange to an American ear, deep-toned and monotonous, but soft enough and by no means unpleasant. It was a sort of liquid rumble. Even those who [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (p. 29)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 29 - NORTH LAGOON AND THE MERCHANT TAILORS' BUILDING NORTH LAGOON AND THE MERCHANT TAILORS' BUILDING.—It was hardly to be expected that a building erected by a special class of exhibitors would compare favorably in classic beauty of conception and in all architectural features With anything produced by the great artists of the Exposition, but such was certainly the case. The Merchant Tailors' Building was an architectural gem, inside and outside. However, a structure planned by Pericles and built under the supervision of Phidias should be something admirable, and those [...]
Meadows Museum displays BEACH AT PORTICI from 1893 World’s Fair
The Meadows Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas has announced their acquisition of Beach at Portici, a work that was on display at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and the final painting of 19th century Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (1838-1874). The American Exhibit of art occupied 24,000 square feet of space in the northeastern part of the Palace of Fine Arts at the Columbian Exposition. One section was devoted to foreign masterpieces owned by citizens of the United States. “Considered one of the most important international exhibitions of the 19th century," writes the Meadows [...]