Columbian Exposition News
The enduring legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair in modern scholarship, education, the arts, creative products, preservation, and other events.
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Wishing our readers a plentiful Thanksgiving!
THE STATUE OF "PLENTY" from Picturesque World's Fair (W. B. Conkey, 1894). The pieces of statuary which stood beside the portals of the great buildings or bridge approaches, or on pedestals overlooking the Grand Basin and canals and lagoons, had all definite names fitted to the idea of their conception. What Kemeys and Proctor did with wild animals Potter and French did with domestic ones, introducing them in statuary with [...]
See the Midway, German Building, and Palace of Fine Arts on Film
The Chicago Tribune has posted a video mash-up of Chicago aerial scenes, pairing vintage film footage—shot in 1914 from a dirigible flying over the city—with modern video of the same locations. The German Building (looking south) Of particular interest to fans of the 1893 World’s Fair are scenes of the Midway Plaisance (shown at 3:45 minutes in the video) followed by a fly-over of the 58th Street [...]
Weinstein, War, and the White City
The 1893 World’s Fair has made small guest appearances on the big screen and small screen, but has yet to be a major featured setting for a film or television series. The 2005 documentary film EXPO – Magic of the White City, narrated by Gene Wilder, (link to online video) uses still images of the Columbian Exposition along with video footage (oddly chosen, in some cases) to tell the [...]
Chicago History Museum WCE display updated
The World's Columbian Exposition exhibit at the Chicago History Museum The Chicago History Museum blog post "New Additions to an Old Favorite" reports that the museum's permanent exhibition Chicago: Crossroads of America made some updates this past summer to the section on the 1893 World's Fair, including: an expanded section on activist and author Ida B. Wells, showing her 1893 pamphlet “The Reason Why The Colored American Is Not in the [...]
Fist City: a monumental beer
Move over PBR, there’s a new beer for 1893 World’s Fair enthusiasts. Fist City did not win a blue ribbon at the Columbian Exposition (hey, neither did Pabst!), because Revolution Brewing first released their pale ale in 2014. Initially offered only on tap at Big Star—a self-described “bourbon and beer-focused, taco-slinging, late-night honky-tonk in the heart of Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood”—Fist City’s popularity encouraged Revolution to offer this brew year-round, [...]
Repairing the Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge
The Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge has seen better days. Closed since 2015 due to structural deterioration, this pedestrian bridge provides the only east-west path across Jackson Park between the Museum of Science and Industry at E. 57th Street on the north to almost E. 63rd Street / Hayes Drive on the south end. Its reconstruction and re-opening is welcome news to everyone who uses Jackson Park and especially to [...]
“A Wheel With a View” in Summer 2017 Chicago History
Summer 2017 Chicago History magazine. Who can resist an unexpected trip to the Midway? While I always enjoy ripping opening the envelope to reveal the latest issue of Chicago History magazine published by the Chicago History Museum, the Summer 2017 issue offered a special treat. A gorgeous image of Charles Graham's painting of the Ferris Wheel graces the cover, complementing a 28-page feature, "A Wheel With a [...]