Maillard’s Mammoth Chocolate Statues

July 7 is World Chocolate Day (by some accounts), so let’s celebrate ... 1893 style! Chocolate and cocoa could be found in many locations on the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Blooker’s Dutch Cocoa Windmill and House was one lovely display where visitors could sample some hot cocoa, but a set of mammoth chocolate statues exhibited by Maillard’s chocolates in the Agricultural Building must have been one of the most amazing sights. Maillard's Chocolate advertising [...]

By Scott|2025-04-27T09:59:35-05:00July 7th, 2019|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , |1 Comment
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“Behold the spirit of Chicago’s heart.” Diana of the Tower departs Gotham for the 1893 World’s Fair

Adorning the top of the dome of the Agricultural Building at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago was Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ marvelous statue of Diana. The golden huntress previously had stood high above New York City, atop Madison Square Garden. That was the problem: she stood when she should have rotated. Installed on the building's tower in the fall of 1891 as a graceful weather vane, Diana resisted smooth rotation in the wind. Both Saint-Gaudens and Madison Square Garden architect [...]

By Scott|2023-10-11T20:39:40-05:00April 20th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |2 Comments
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Gotham’s Golden Goddess: A Tale of Diana of the Tower

“The beautiful statue of Diana which swings as a weather vane above the central dome is one of the great attractions of the Exposition.” --John J. Flinn in Guide to the World’s Fair Grounds, Buildings and Attractions (Standard Guide Co., 1893) The short story reprinted here comes from the November 1892 issue of Comfort, a monthly periodical from Augusta, Maine. Just weeks before, Gotham’s golden goddess--who is the subject of this tale--had been removed from her lofty perch above [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T08:34:09-06:00April 19th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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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 their occupation when at home. The dainty city woman and [...]

By Randy|2019-03-10T20:13:03-05:00March 10th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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THE LADY OF THE LAKE by Julian Hawthorne Part IV: The Incomparable Loveliness of the Illuminations

Author Julian Hawthorne visited the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Like so many other visitors who recorded their impressions of visiting the World’s Fair, he offered some of his highest praise for the electrical lighting of the night scene in the Dream City, a “banquet of royal beauty.” Reprinted below is the fourth and final part of Julian Hawthorne’s “The Lady of the Lake” about his June visit to the fairgrounds and published in the August 1893 issue [...]

By Scott|2022-12-10T10:05:26-06:00February 7th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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The World’s Fair in a Cup of Cocoa

An advertisement for Blooker's Cocoa from Harper's Weekly in 1893. This is a good day to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa and think about the 1893 World’s Fair. In a contemporary magazine advertisement promoting their distribution of Blooker’s Dutch Cocoa, the Franco-American Food Company offered this copy: “The Columbian Exposition will soon be a thing of the past. Thousands of people who have visited the White City will remember the Blooker exhibit as they sip their [...]

By Scott|2023-11-04T19:08:38-05:00January 31st, 2019|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment
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November 2018 Trivia Question

Our monthly 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 November 2018 Trivia Question Which of the Great Buildings in the White City featured a ring of ornamental turkey sculptures on its roof? A. the Transportation Building B. the Agricultural Building C. the U.S. Government Building D. the Palace of Poultry The answer is B. A ring of [...]

By Scott|2018-11-25T10:47:15-06:00November 21st, 2018|Categories: TRIVIA|Tags: , , |1 Comment
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Grand Basin from the Administration Gallery (p. 62)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 62 – THE GRAND BASIN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION GALLERY THE GRAND BASIN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION GALLERY.—Very striking was the effect produced by the body of water known as the Grand Basin, forming a symmetrical marble-framed lake in the center of the Court of Honor. Here, during the day, were reflected the hosts of white fronts uprearing on every side; here, at night, were flashed back the blaze of light [...]

By Randy|2018-08-07T20:33:18-05:00August 9th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Agriculture Building (p. 51)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 51 – THE AGRICULTURE BUILDING THE AGRICULTURE BUILDING.—Viewed from the northwest, different facades of the great Agriculture Building can be seen and a fair idea obtained of its magnitude and beauty. Though but a single story in height, most imposing effects were sought in the design of the structure and were fully realized. Its dimensions were, for the main building, eight hundred by five hundred feet, and for the [...]

By Randy|2022-01-23T11:30:54-06:00May 25th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Opening Day, Part 12: Tour of the Fairgrounds

Tour of the Fairgrounds This is Part 12 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. After the “Banquet of Nations” luncheon, President Cleveland and his entourage embarked on a whirlwind tour of the Columbian Exposition grounds and buildings. They departed from the north entrance of the Administration Building where carriages were waiting. “President Cleveland [...]

By Scott|2019-03-24T08:40:49-05:00May 3rd, 2018|Categories: OPENING DAY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Opening Day, Part 10: The Great Transformation Scene

The Great Transformation Scene This is Part 10 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. As the last words fell from his lips at the conclusion of his short address, President Grover Cleveland placed his finger on the telegraph key. With his hand touching the electric switchboard, a chrysalis transformation scene was about to begin [...]

By Scott|2022-10-10T08:59:18-05:00May 1st, 2018|Categories: OPENING DAY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Great Display of Windmills (p. 43)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 43 – THE GREAT DISPLAY OF WINDMILLS THE GREAT DISPLAY OF WINDMILLS.—One of the most picturesque effects produced on the Exposition grounds was that resulting from the grouping of windmills of all sorts and kinds in competition. From the old Dutch windmill made famous in poetry and story to the latest patented American invention, they were there in the path of the lake breezes, blazing in all colors and [...]

By Randy|2018-07-07T12:16:15-05:00March 28th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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In Like a Lion

The month of March, the saying goes, comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” Lions—both real and plaster—could be found at several locations around the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. One example is Lions by German sculptor M. Arthur Waagen. This set of four lion sculptures adorned the base of the obelisk, which stood in the center of the Colonnade in the South Canal, between Machinery Hall and the Agricultural Building. The Chicago Daily [...]

By Scott|2022-07-08T15:42:53-05:00March 1st, 2018|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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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 [...]

By Randy|2018-07-07T12:14:47-05:00February 17th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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Remembering George R. Davis, Director-General of the Fair

On November 25, 1899, George R. Davis died in Chicago. He served as the Director-General of the 1893 World’s Fair. This short biographic sketch of Davis appears in "My Country, Tis of Thee !" or, the United States of America; Past, Present and Future by Willis Fletcher Johnson and John Habberton, (John Y. Huber Company, 1892): A portrait of George R. Davis from Picturesque World's Fair (W. B. Conkey, 1894) The Director-General of the Exhibition, its chief [...]

By Scott|2018-07-07T12:13:41-05:00November 25th, 2017|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , |2 Comments
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