“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 [...]

Mar 29, 2023: “Deconstructing The Devil in the White City” seminar (online)

The Newberry Library's Adult Education program will offer an online writing seminar on Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. This acclaimed 2003 historical non-fiction book introduced millions of readers to the facinating and tumultuous history of how the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was built. "Deconstructing The Devil in the White City" will analyze the craft of the storytelling in Larson's writing. Dr. Caroline Malloy—a historian, book coach, and [...]

By |2023-12-17T08:09:31-06:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

The best selling book ever written about Chicago

"At 2.3 million copies, this may be the best selling book ever written about Chicago," reports Chicago Magazine. Making their list of The 10 Best 21st Century Chicago Nonfiction Books, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (2003) is Erik Larson's "intertwined biographies of Chicago’s greatest builder and its greatest destroyer." This captivating narrative nonfiction account of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (and parallel profile of "serial killer" H.H. Holmes) [...]

By |2023-10-20T21:25:09-05:00July 15th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: |0 Comments

June 25, 2022: Devil in the White City Bus Tour (Chicago)

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, June 25, 2022. 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 of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, and discover what has [...]

“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 along with informative commentary by a group of notable Chicago [...]

By |2021-05-18T08:16:31-05:00May 9th, 2021|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , |0 Comments

Dec. 19, 2020: Chicago History Book Club discusses the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (online)

DATE CHANGE The Chicago History Book Club will discuss three books about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition during their online meeting at 10 am on Saturday, December 19: Robert Muccigrosso's Celebrating the New World: Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 (Ivan R. Dee, 1993), Erik Larson's best-selling The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Crown, 2003), and Jeanne Madeline Weimann's The Fair Women: The Story of the Woman’s Building at the [...]

By |2023-01-12T20:31:20-06:00December 5th, 2020|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

CANCELLED May 30, 2020: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)

This event has been cancelled. The Chicago History Museum is offering a “Ride Like the Devil: a Devil in the White City Bike Tour” on Saturday, May 30, 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 the devilish doings of H. [...]

CANCELLED May 9, 2020: 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, May 9, 2020, starting at 1 pm. 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 of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, [...]

CANCELLED Apr. 11, 2020: 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 11, 2020, starting at 1 pm. 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 of the Phoenix in Jackson Park, [...]

POSTPONED Apr. 11, 2020: Chicago History Book Group Discusses Three Columbian Exposition Titles

At their meeting on Saturday, April 11, 2020, the Chicago History Book Discussion Group will discuss three important research books about the 1893 World’s Fair: An Early Encounter with Tomorrow by Arnold Lewis (University of Illinois Press, 1997) The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (Crown, 2003), and The Fair Women by Jeanne Madeline Weimann (Chicago Review Press, 1981). The discussion, sponsored by the Edgewater Historical Society and [...]

By |2020-04-11T09:58:51-05:00March 6th, 2020|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments
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