Columbian Exposition News
The enduring legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair in modern scholarship, education, the arts, creative products, preservation, and other events.
RECENT POSTS ABOUT COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION NEWS
1893 World’s Fair ends in tragedy
The World's Columbian Exposition closed on October 30, 1893. The Chicago Sun-Times recalls the tragedy that cast a shadow over the planned, but cancelled, closing ceremonies. The full story is available at "World’s Fair ends in tragedy".
Changes to Jackson Park 1893-2021
Construction in and around the Obama Presidential Center site in Jackson Park began on Monday, August 16. The long-delayed project on 19.3 acres of Jackson Park is set to be completed in 2025. In April, we posted a static map showing the "Footprint of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park" and have now posted a YouTube video showing Jackson Park from 1893 World's Fair to Obama Presidential Center [...]
An original painting of the 1893 California State Building sells at auction
An original painting of the California State Building from the 1893 World’s Fair sold at auction for $2,800 on June 25, 2021. The 9.75-by-13.5-inch, unframed oil on canvas features the second largest state building (after that of Illinois) on the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds. Artist William Woodward (1859–1939), who served on the planning commission for his home state of Louisiana, depicted with impressionist flair a crowd passing in front the [...]
The Garden of the Phoenix — Japan’s lasting gift in Jackson Park
One of the most important sites in the U.S. reflecting American-Japanese relations has its roots in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The Garden of the Phoenix on the Wooded Island in the heart of Jackson Park, is located at the site of the original Ho-o-den pavilion (Phoenix Hall). After this gift to the city of Chicago was destroyed by fire, a Japanese garden rose from the ashes. As the [...]
Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue!
"Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue!" [Image from World's Fair Puck, July 3, 1893.] At 11 o'clock on July 4, 1893, crowds filled around a grandstand east of Terminal Station on the fairgrounds of the World's Fair in Chicago. A band opened the ceremonies with a medley of American airs, beginning with "Hail Columbia" and ending with "Yankee Doodle."
National Park Service Highlights “Women’s History at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition”
The National Park Service explores “Women’s History at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” with a survey of some related NPS sites, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palmer House Hotel, Lorado Taft Midway Studios, a home belonging to Lois Lilley Howe (who submitted a design for the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World’s Fair), and—of course—Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and Midway Plaisance. The dining room of [...]
“1893 World’s Columbian Exposition: Crossroads of America” podcast
The podcast Tour Guide Tell All brings listeners on a visit to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago with their episode “1893 World’s Columbian Exposition: Crossroads of America” (published on April 9, 2021). In just under an hour, Rebecca Fachner and Becca Grawl cover a wide range of subjects, including “famous firsts of the fair,” Lyman J. Gage, Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Gen. George R. Davis, George Westinghouse, [...]
The Idaho State Building at the 1893 World’s Fair
The Idaho Building in downtown Boise is a “descendant” of several other Idaho buildings stretching back to the 1893 World’s Fair. Idaho Press history columnist Rick Just tells this story in “A little slice of history: The downtown Boise buildings story”, published on May 22, 2021. The Idaho State Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Johnson, Rossiter A History of the World's Columbian Exposition Volume [...]
Ida B. Wells documentary airs on WTTW-Chicago
Civil rights activist Ida B. Wells spoke truth to power through her pamphlet The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in The World’s Columbian Exposition. 10,000 copies were distributed at the 1893 World’s Fair. “With the eyes of the world on Chicago,” explains a new documentary film about Wells, “she would use the international stage to expose the terror of lynching.” On Friday, May 21, 2021, Chicago public [...]
“Chicago’s White City Devil” on Smithsonian’s MURDEROUS HISTORY
The latest documentary about the evil doings of H. H. Holmes joins a crowded collection of films and television shows about the “devil in the white city” who killed an unknown number of victims around the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition. It is among the best to date. “Chicago's White City Devil,” the second episode of the Smithsonian Channel’s new series Murderous History, features rather cheesy dramatic scenes [...]