Welcome to Zoopraxiscope Hall
Come see flickering images about the 1893 World’s Fair
on the big and small screen
DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT THE 1893 WORLD’S FAIR
- “Chicago: City of the Century Part 3” American Experience Season 5 (PBS, 2003). IMDB; Amazon
- EXPO – Magic of the White City (Inecom Entertainment Company, 2005). Amazon (DVD and streaming); NETFLIX
- Madness in the White City (National Geographic, 2007). IMDB
- “World’s Fair Treasure Hunt” segment in Hidden Chicago with Geoffrey Baer (WTTW-11, 2014) Amazon
- Vintage Chicago: The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair 22 min. (Jonathan Chase Cook, 2017) Amazon video
DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT PEOPLE OF THE 1893 WORLD’S FAIR
- Tesla: Master of Lightning (PBS, 2000). IMDB; YouTube
- Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan (2006). IMDB
- “Annie Oakley” American Experience Season 8, Episode 12 (PBS, 2006). IMDB
- Westinghouse (2008). IMDB; YouTube
- “Augustus Saint-Gaudens: Master of American Sculpture” American Masters (PBS, 2009) IMDB; Amazon
- Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City (PBS, 2010) IMDB: Amazon
- Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture (Whitecap Films, 2010). IMDB; Amazon
- Love Under Fire: The Story of Bertha and Potter Palmer (Corn Bred Films, 2013) IMDB; Amazon
- Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America (PBS, 2014)
- “Black Heart, White City” American Ripper Season 1, Episode 5 (History Channel, 2017)
- The Fabulous Bertha Palmer (Sarasota Fringe Films, c2018); Vimeo
- Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask (Ohio University Press, 2018) Amazon
- 1893 Chicago’s Columbian Exposition (Michael Finney, 2020) Amazon
FILMING THE FAIRGROUNDS: FICTIONAL WORKS SET AT THE FAIR
- The Great Ziegfeld (MGM, 1936). IMDB
- “The Longest Beard in the World” Death Valley Days, Season 4, Episode 20 (1956). IMDB
- “The World’s Columbian Exposition” Timeless Season 1, Episode 11. (NBC, 2017). IMDB
- The Current War (2017). IMDB
- Tesla (2020). IMDB
- “Sister Rising” American Gods Season 3, Episode 5. (Starz, 2021). IMDB
- “1893” Loki Season 2, Episode 3 (Disney+, 2023). IMDB
H. H. HOLMES and THE WORLD’S FAIR
- “Chicago’s White City Devil” Murderous History, Season 1, Episode 1 (Smithsonian Channel, 2021) IMDB
OTHER
- The Surging Sea of Humanity (2006). 10:41 min. silent film based on a stereoscope card of the World’s Fair. WorldCat
RECENT POSTS ABOUT VIDEO, FILM, AND TELEVISION
Is “The Devil in the White City” TV miniseries still alive?
Deadline’s Zac Ntim recently interviewed Stacey Sher, often listed as show runner for Hulu’s The Devil in the White City TV miniseries that was shelved in March of 2023. Ntim asked Sher “is that still happening and are you still involved?” to which she replied “I’m still involved. I never give up.” When asked if fans can expect to see it sometime soon, she replied “I mean, I hope so. It’s not imminent, but it is not ever far from my mind.” There you have it. People are still thinking about it.
Long-lost film footage of the 1893 World’s Fair?
Has some long-lost film footage of the 1893 World’s Fair been discovered? Not quite. But this video about a stunning piece of Chicago real estate opens with some fun AI-generated animations of the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds. The video showcases a $3.6M penthouse mansion in the historic Montgomery Ward building (6 N. Michigan Ave.), constructed in 1898–99. [Note: The building across the street—constructed for use by the World’s Congress Auxiliary and which then became the new home of the Art Institute of Chicago—was not designed to be a temporary structure. Also, the Aon Center and Prudential buildings to the north [...]
Kaz Rowe Ranks the Weirdest Things at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
YouTuber Kaz Rowe has posted an engaging video “Ranking the Weirdest Things at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair” in which she explores twenty-five quirky, surprising, or just-plain-strange attractions of the Columbian Exposition and ranks them on a scale from “slumgullion” to “some pumpkins.” From the Ferris Wheel to the Mammoth Cheese to the Windmill exhibit, visitors to the Chicago fair were treated to a salmagundi of curiosities. During an interlude in her rankings, Rowe visits with Marissa Croft of the Chicago History Museum to taste two versions of the notorious orange cider that was served at locations across the [...]
A Columbian Exposition Enthusiast’s Guide to HBO’s “The Gilded Age”
Viewers of The Gilded Age on HBO Max meet several real historical figures mingling with a cast of colorful fictional characters. Although the series takes place in 1882–83, ten years before the Columbian Exposition will open in Chicago, The Gilded Age features several of the designers, participants, and visitors associated with the 1893 World’s Fair. [This post will be updated as new episodes are released.] Jane Addams Social activist Jane Addams is mentioned in Season 2, Episode 4, when Miss Brook is invited to teach a charity class. Addams and Ellen Gates Starr co-founded a settlement house called Hull [...]
The Marvel-ous Midway of “Loki” Season 2, Episode 3 “1893”
On a branched timeline in the Marvel® multiverse, a few time travelers, a Norse trickster god, and an artificial intelligence disguised as an orange clock (and thought to be a ghost) visit the Midway Plaisance of the 1893 World’s Fair. Loki Season 2, Episode 3 “1893,” which premiered on Oct. 19, 2023, treated viewers to one of the most beautiful and faithful depictions of the World’s Columbian Exposition fairgrounds yet made for film or television. This wide-angle view of the 1893 World's Fair created for Marvel's Loki S2E3 depicts the tower of Chinese Village and Theater on the [...]
Marvel’s “Loki” heads to the 1893 World’s Fair in Season 2
The Marvel Universe is heading to the 1893 World’s Fair this fall. The Season 1 finale of the original series Loki found the titular character in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. In the upcoming season, the action moves through multiple branched timelines as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) encounter Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors). The Cosmic Circus reports that the story will bring the characters to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where Victor Timely will showcase one of his inventions at the “Victor Timely and his Astounding Emporium Marvels.” Where the [...]
White City dark again as “Devil” departs Hulu
In various stages of development for twenty years, the screen adaptation of Erik Larson’s 2003 best-selling book about the Columbian Exposition, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, has blown another fuse. In the wake of leading man Keanu Reeves and director Todd Field dropping out of the drama last October, Hulu has pulled the plug on the production on March 6. Hulu ordered the miniseries in February 2019, but little more than flickering cast rumor have emerged since. New outlets report that the streamer, working with Paramount Television Studios [...]
Sept 10, 2022: 1893 Chicago’s Columbian Exposition doc film premiere (Chicago)
A new full-length documenary film 1893 Chicago's Columbian Exposition will have it theatrical premier on September 10th, 2022, at 5 pm. The event is in coordination with the Design Museum of Chicago and will be held at Chicago Filmmakers (1326 W. Hollywood Ave. in Chicago). A $10 donation is requested. Following the screening will be a demonstration on the patio of a World's Fair augmented reality project. For more information on the film, related book and music, and the extended reality project, go to chicago1893.com.
Keanu Reeves Heads to the White City as Builder not Killer
After nearly two decades in development, a long-awaited screen drama about the 1893 World’s Fair may be coming at last. Hulu announced on August 4, 2022, that Keanu Reeves has officially joined the cast of the streaming service’s upcoming limited series The Devil in the White City. Back in January, rumors circulated that Reeves was in talks for an unidentified role. The show will be an adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling 2003 non-fiction book that interweaves the true stories of renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham struggling to build the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park, and the notorious [...]
Devil Details: Someone “inspired and probably unexpected” to star in Hulu’s “The Devil in the White City”
Deadline’s recent interview with Jordan Helman, head of scripted content at Hulu, revealed a few tantalizing tidbits about the streaming service’s project, The Devil in the White City. He confirms that Sam Shaw is the showrunner, working “within a small army of producers.” Previous reports have this production team including Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Emma Koskoff, Jennifer Davisson, Rick Yorn, and Stacey Sher. Helman also confirms that sitting in the director’s chair will be Todd Field, whom he describes as “one of the great American filmmakers.” Field has just over a dozen directing credits, including In the Bedroom (2001) [...]