Fourth at the Fair, Part 17: Fireworks of Unequaled Grandeur
The Fourth of July at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago was the biggest day yet at the Fair.
Eyewitness to the Cold Storage Building fire
Mr. Bryan and Mr. King could not have imaged the infernal tragedy about to unfold at the Columbian Exposition on the afternoon of Monday, July 10, 1893. Thomas Barbour Bryan was a leading figure in the effort to bring the World’s Columbian Exposition to Chicago and had been its First Vice-President. William Fletcher King served as the president of Cornell College from 1863 until 1908. Their conversation was interrupted by smoke billowing from the cupola of a building in [...]
A diary from the 1893 World’s Fair
Sally MacNamara Ivey "has read more than 10,000 unpublished diaries and spent 35 years collecting them.... Whenever MacNamara Ivey has had pocket change, it’s gone to purchasing diaries. Back in the late ’90s, when she and her husband were raising four kids with the money she brought in waiting tables and he made working at the local mill, she bought a diary on layaway for $500 (about $900 today). It was written by a woman who attended the 1893 [...]
Apr. 14, 2022: “The Fire at the Fair” (Northfield, IL)
Thursday, April 14, 2022, the Winnetka-Northfield Library District will host "Chicago History Cop" Raymond Johnson, speaking on "The Fire at the Fair." Mr. Johnson will present his research on tragic fire at the Cold Storage Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and his surprising discovery at the memorial at Chicago’s Oakwoods Cemetery. The event runs from 7-8 PM in the Northfield Library (1785 Orchard Lane in Northfield, IL) and is free and open to the public. Registration is [...]