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May 5, 2019: 25th Annual World’s Fair Memorabilia Show (Elk Grove Village, IL)
The 25th Annual World's Fair Memorabilia Show will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2019, from 10 am to 4 pm at the Holiday Inn at 1000 Busse Road (Rt. 83 and Landmeier Rd.) in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Collectors and dealers will meet to buy, sell, and trade items related to World's Fairs from 1876 to the present. Although the main focus will be on the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair, [...]
May 4, 2019: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)
The Chicago History Museum is offering a “Ride Like the Devil: a Devil in the White City Bike Tour” on Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 9:45 am to 12:45 pm. Cycle back to 1893, pedal past sites related to the World’s Fair, and discover its lasting influence on Chicago. Along the way, tour guide Greg Borzo, author of Where to Bike Chicago, will uncover Daniel Burnham’s grand plans and [...]
Fool of the Fair
We should expect to encounter a fool on April 1st, and visitors to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition could have met a striking fool hanging in the Palace of Fine Arts. Thomas Shields Clarke's oil painting A Fool's Fool (1887) was on display at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. [Image from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.] A Fool's Fool (1887) was a work by artist Thomas [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – East Lagoon by Moonlight (p. 77)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 77 – THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT.— The night scenes at the Fair were undoubtedly the most beautiful for those who liked dreamy pictures, or half darkness contrasted with a blaze of glorious lights, better than unvarying white beauty. The fireworks, the illumination about the Court of Honor, the colored effects upon the Wooded [...]
From the Balcony of Henry Ives Cobb’s Fisheries Building
Detail from "From the Balcony of the Fisheries Building" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine May 1893. Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) contributed several buildings to the fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, but perhaps none so beautiful and intricately detailed as the great Fisheries Building. "In the Fisheries Building, a clever scheme of surface ornament has been composed from casts of [...]
April 26, 2019: 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 head to the Chicago Loop for “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, April 26, 2019. You [...]
Mar 27-May 5, 2019: Wilmette (IL) Public Library One Book, Everybody Reads “The Lake on Fire”
For their 2019 One Book, Everybody Reads program, the Wilmette (IL) Public Library has a selected a title related to the 1893 World’s Fair. Rosellen Brown's 2018 acclaimed novel, The Lake on Fire, is set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The publisher describes The Lake on Fire as an epic narrative that begins among 19th century Jewish immigrants on a failing Wisconsin farm. Lured by the [...]
Spring 2019 Trivia Question
Our quarterly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The Spring 2019 Trivia Question In the image above can be seen the Wooded Island, spread out below the balloon. Just out the frame to the left (south) would have been a small log cabin, erected by future U.S. [...]
Clara Doty Bates, Hostess of the 1893 World’s Fair Children’s Library
“There are some crusty old bachelors and a few childless women who make a pretense of disliking children, but it's a flimsy sort of sour-grape antipathy, and rarely rings true. Even those people who do not like children's society will find a great deal to enjoy in their domicile.” —Emma. B. Dunlap, writing about the Children’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Clara Doty Bates. [Image from [...]
Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair, Part III
Throughout Women’s History Month, we’re reflecting on women’s valuable contributions to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Reprinted here is Part 3 of “Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair” from the May 1893 issue of The Review of Reviews. “The Children's Building” was contributed by Clara Doty Bates, who served as the librarian for the building. Earlier this month we posted Part 1 and Part 2. Additional images have been [...]
Relics from the Columbian Exposition’s “Victoria House” Up for Sale
Victoria House served as Great Britain’s government building for the 1893 World’s Fair. Remnants of some beautiful carpentry from the original structure have come on the market recently. This World’s Fair relic, however, comes as part of a house on Chicago’s northside, for sale in the range of $739,000. The house at 1911 W. Farwell Avenue in the Roger’s Park neighborhood was built by Andrew Hall, an electrician who [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Life Saving Station (p. 76)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 76 – THE LIFE SAVING STATION THE LIFE SAVING STATION —The Life Saving Station was a popular institution at the World's Fair. At a certain hour every afternoon the crowd assembled on the lake shore and gazed out over the water, out of which, at a considerable distance, rose a mast, theoretically, that of a vessel submerged beneath. To [...]
Timeline of THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY minseries
The April 2019 issue of Chicago magazine includes this timeline of the on-again-off-again (it's ON again!) plans for a film version of The Devil in the White City. There is no word yet on the title of the upcoming Hulu miniseries or where filming will take place. And who will play the role of Daniel Burnham? Perhaps ... John C. Reilly? David Morse? Tom Hanks? Daniel H. Burnham, [...]
Mar. 4-Apr. 22, 2019: Montclair Reads “The Devil in the White City” (Montclair, NJ)
The Montclair Library (Montclair, NJ) is hosting a series of events relating to the 1893 World’s Fair as part of their programming for Montclair Reads The Devil in the White City, focused on Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries) about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and a nearby killer, H. H. Holmes. Events include: Montclair in the Gilded Age. Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, Main [...]
Ellen Martin Henrotin, Vice-President of the Women’s Branch of the World’s Congress Auxiliary
“To her belongs much of the credit for the strong feminist emphasis that characterized the Columbian Exposition.” --James, et al. Notable American Women, 1607-1950, p 182. Ellen M. Henrotin [Image from Pictorial Album and History of the World’s Fair and Midway. Harry T. Smith & Co., 1893.] Socialite and social reformer, Ellen Martin Henrotin (1847-1922) served as Vice President of the World’s Congress Auxiliary of the 1893 World's [...]
Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair, Part II
March is Women’s History Month and a fitting time to reflect on women’s valuable contributions to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Reprinted here is Part 2 of “Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair” from the May 1893 issue of The Review of Reviews. “The Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary” was written by Ellen M. Henrotin, Vice-President of the Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary. Part 1 [...]
Apr. 13, 2019: Devil in the White City Bus Tour
Experience the murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America on a 4-hour bus tour offered by the Chicago History Museum on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Inspired by Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries), this tour will take you back to 1893 with historian Al Walavich, to follow the trails of Daniel Burnham and the devilish doings of H. H. Holmes. Visit the historic fairgrounds, the Garden [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Interior of the Agriculture Building (p. 75)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 75 – INTERIOR OF AGRICULTURE BUILDING INTERIOR OF AGRICULTURE BUILDING.—The visitor new to the Fair and as yet unfamiliar with the topography of interiors was not unlikely to get lost in the Agriculture Building, with its acres of space and mile upon mile of displays. It was a most bewildering, but attractive, place, and drew the people, regardless of [...]
Wind Yourself Up and Spring Forward
A timely reminder from World'sFairChicago1893.com to set your clocks ahead for daylight savings, which begins on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The Clock Tower of the Self-Winding Clock Company in the center of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. [Image from Scientific American, July 29, 1893.]
May 3-5, 2019: Chicago Antiquarian Map, Book & Ephemera Fair
The Chicago Antiquarian Map, Book & Ephemera Fair, to be held from May 3-5, 2019, at the Newberry Library (60 W. Walton St. in Chicago), will gather over thirty exhibitors offering a wide array of maps, books, and ephemera for sale. Among the tables may be some treasures from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, according to the fair’s featured item’s page. The Abraham Lincoln Book Shop offers a fascinating [...]