The Chicago Orchestra’s 1892 Premiere of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite”

One of America’s most beloved holiday artistic traditions originated in imperial Russia and came to the United States through Chicago at the time of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. On October 22, 1892, an audience of Chicagoans—joined by distinguished guests in town for the World’s Fair Dedication Day exercises—gathered in the Auditorium to hear a concert by the Chicago Orchestra conducted by Theodore Thomas. During the third piece on the program, songs of waltzing flowers, terpsichorean reeds, and a [...]

By Scott|2025-12-02T09:28:00-06:00December 2nd, 2025|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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“It would never do to leave it out”: How the Columbian Exposition was omitted from the U.S. Capitol’s FRIEZE OF AMERICAN HISTORY

The United States Capitol almost became the home of a painting to commemorate the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Pennsylvania Railroad to the Columbian Exposition (Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 1892).] U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., February 24, 1890 “CHICAGO WINS,” headlines read across the country the next morning. The Midwest metropolis won the bid to host the upcoming World’s Fair on the eighth vote in the House of Representatives. After a six-hour battle on February 24, 1890, the [...]

By Scott|2025-08-18T09:14:31-05:00September 18th, 2025|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Mar. 22, 2025: “Bertha Honoré Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” (Glen Ellyn, IL)

She was “The Queen of Chicago” and “The Queen of the Fair” in 1893. Bertha Honoré Palmer is the subject of a presentation by historian Laurie Russell on March 22, 2025, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. “Bertha Honore’ Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” will examine her legacy and impact on Chicago and around the world. Vintage photographs will illustrate Bertha Palmer’s life from early childhood, her marriage to hotel magnate Potter Palmer, the Great Chicago [...]

By Scott|2025-04-11T09:42:28-05:00March 19th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments
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“No Holmes Barred!” A World’s Fair Radio Show Podcast Concludes

History, hilarity, and histrionics characterize a new satirical radio-show podcast about the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. No Holmes Barred! is written, directed, and produced by Daniel Ciarrocchi (you may have seen him on Jeopardy!) and tells the dual stories of Daniel Burnham’s construction of the fairgrounds in Jackson Park and the bloody trail of murderer H. H. Holmes in nearby Englewood. If this premise sounds like a certain best-selling work of narrative nonfiction that introduced millions of readers [...]

By Scott|2024-08-23T13:17:26-05:00August 23rd, 2024|Categories: AUDIO, NEWS|Tags: , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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May 7, 2024: DREAM CITY musical (Chicago)

A new musical about the 1893 World’s Fair takes the stage at Theater Wit in Chicago for one night only. Dream City, with book and lyrics by June Finfer and music by Elizabeth Doyle, will be offered as a staged reading on May 7, 2024, at 7:30 PM. Finfer and Doyle’s musical is a revision of Burnham’s Dream: The White City, staged in 2018. This new version featured five new songs, two new characters (including a villain), and no [...]

By Scott|2024-06-04T09:23:08-05:00April 22nd, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Sweet Treats Born at the 1893 World’s Fair

WTTW’s Chicago Stories series has a new episode titled “Candy Capital” that includes a segment about the sweet treats born at the 1893 World’s Fair. The profile discusses Milton Hershey, Frederick and Louis Rueckheim's precursor to Cracker Jack, Bertha Palmer's brownies, and more.  The reversed shot of the Court of Honor (shown above) was a little strange, though. If you have recovered from your Halloween candy pile, check out their short stories and images from the Columbian Exposition at [...]

By Scott|2023-11-06T08:12:46-06:00November 6th, 2023|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , , |2 Comments
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“No Holmes Barred!” A World’s Fair Radio Show Podcast

History, hilarity, and histrionics characterize a new satirical radio-show podcast about the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. No Holmes Barred! is written, directed, and produced by Daniel Ciarrocchi (you may have seen him on Jeopardy!) and tells the dual stories of Daniel Burnham’s construction of the fairgrounds in Jackson Park and the bloody trail of murderer H. H. Holmes in nearby Englewood. If this premise sounds like a certain best-selling work of narrative nonfiction that introduced millions of readers [...]

By Scott|2023-10-09T07:59:11-05:00October 6th, 2023|Categories: AUDIO, NEWS|Tags: , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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Sep. 21, 2023: “Women’s Work at the 1893 World’s Fair” (Evanston, IL)

The Evanston History Center will host a presentation on "Women’s Work at the 1893 World’s Fair" by Diane Dillon on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 7 pm. Her presentation will explore the range of contributions women made to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, including the work of Bertha Palmer and the Board of Lady Managers, the protest of Ida B. Wells, the design of the Woman’s Building by architect Sophia Hayden, and the Congress of Representative Women. [...]

By Scott|2023-10-02T13:37:30-05:00August 31st, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , , |2 Comments
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June 9, 2023: The Princess of the Fair: The Infanta Eulalia of Spain’s Visit to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (online)

Royalty! Fireworks! A Throne! The Glessner House in Chicago will be hosting an online presentation on "The Princess of the Fair: The Infanta Eulalia of Spain's Visit to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition" on Friday, June 9, 2023. Among the amazing array of famous people walking the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the supreme guest of honor was the Infanta Eulalia of Spain. Chicago was hosting royalty, and the world was watching. During her eight [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:09:36-06:00May 9th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments
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Prominent Petunias

On April 29, 1893, gardeners at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held a christening ceremony for a pair of plants. Inside the greenhouse behind the Horticultural Building, they sprinkled water from a can onto the opening blossoms of two petunias, baptizing the large white bloom as “Mrs. Potter Palmer” (named after the President of the Board of Lady Managers) and the black one having one tiny white fleck as “The Burnham” (named after the Director of Works for the [...]

By Scott|2021-05-08T14:32:44-05:00May 8th, 2021|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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THE GREAT CHICAGO QUIZ SHOW serves up some 1893 World’s Fair trivia

The Great Chicago Quiz Show on WTTW in Chicago has host Geoffrey Baer asking contestants (including some famous Chicagoans) trivia questions about their city. No program about Chicago history would be complete without at least a few tidbits from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, and Geoffrey asked contestants several , including: • The world’s first Ferris Wheel was a hit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. In fact, it was so popular that immediately after the [...]

By Scott|2021-04-30T16:06:45-05:00April 30th, 2021|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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Louisville celebrates 1893 World’s Fair sculptor Enid Yandell

Louisville, Kentucky, is celebrating hometown sculptor Enid Yandell (1870-1934) with a series of events in 2019. The Louisville native, who studied under Auguste Rodin and Frederick MacMonnies, contributed several notable works to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Yandell sculpted the four caryatids supporting the railing of the roof garden of the Woman’s Building. She was selected for the job for Bertha Palmer, President of the Board of Lady Managers and herself a Kentucky native. The artist also [...]

By Scott|2022-09-02T08:25:09-05:00April 25th, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past), NEWS|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment
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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 added to the original article. Clara Doty Bates. [Image [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:47:01-06:00March 20th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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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 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Educated in Europe, Ellen Martin moved [...]

By Scott|2023-12-20T13:27:12-06:00March 14th, 2019|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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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 was posted earlier this month, and Parts 3 will follow [...]

By Scott|2023-12-20T13:27:51-06:00March 13th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |2 Comments
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Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair, Part I

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 1 of “Woman’s Part at the World’s Fair” from the May 1893 issue of The Review of Reviews. “The Work of the Board of Lady Managers” was written by one of its Vice Presidents, Virginia C. Meredith of Indiana. Parts 2 and 3 will follow later this month. Section headers and additional images have [...]

By Scott|2024-04-01T18:57:31-05:00March 1st, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments
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Jan. 24, 2019: Sophia Hayden’s Gold Medal To Be Auctioned

The reverse of Hayden's presentation medal . [Image from John McInnis Auctioneers.] John McInnis Auctioneers (76 Main Street, Amesbury, MA) will offer a rare item from the 1893 World’s Fair in their “Numismatics, Exonumia, Silver and Jewelry” auction on Thursday January 24, 2019. Lot 10 is a 14-karat gold presentation medal awarded to architect Sophia Hayden for her design of the Woman’s Building. An inscription on the obverse reads "Sophia G. Hayden--Presented by the Board of Lady Managers [...]

By Scott|2019-01-30T21:33:32-06:00January 16th, 2019|Categories: ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Tchaikovsky’s Tribute to Children for the 1893 World’s Fair

“Earth hold no music half so sweet as the laughter of a happy child.” -- Bertha Palmer in Fame's Tribute to Children (1893) On this day the world remembers the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840 -- November 6, 1893), who died 125 years ago. Although he did not attend the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, he did provide a small musical gift to help build it. The Children's Building. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:37:56-06:00November 6th, 2018|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment
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September 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 September 2018 Trivia Question To accompany our “Brownies in September” post, here is a trivia question about (the other kind of) brownies at the Fair. One origin story for the delicious chocolate treats is that they were invented for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Bertha Palmer, head of [...]

By Scott|2021-06-07T16:07:46-05:00September 30th, 2018|Categories: TRIVIA|Tags: , |0 Comments
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Entrance to Woman’s Building (p. 65)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 65 – ENTRANCE TO WOMAN'S BUILDING ENTRANCE TO WOMAN'S BUILDING.—The view given in the accompanying illustration is of the east portal to the transept of the Woman's Building, and it may be said of it, as might be said of other portion of the edifice, that it appeared best upon a close inspection. The building, accidentally, no doubt, but none the less certainly, had a feminine character, lacking boldness [...]

By Randy|2024-11-12T12:52:00-06:00September 28th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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