Grand Basin Archives - Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
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The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition

REPRINTS

The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition

“However grand, complete and astonishing the World's Fair may appear to the public by daylight, it is at night that it can be seen in all its splendor and magnificence,” wrote the World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated [read the article here]. Another description of the nightly illumination of the Court of Honor comes from the newspaper story reprinted below, originally from an (unknown) Chicago newspaper. Turning Day into Night “After dark at the World's Fair will be one of the [...]

By Scott|2024-04-05T08:26:47-05:00April 6th, 2024|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Auditorium, Charles T. Yerkes, Court of Honor, Diana, electric fountains, Grand Basin, illumination, search lights|0 Comments

A Columbian Exposition jigsaw puzzle oddity
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A Columbian Exposition jigsaw puzzle oddity

PRODUCTS

A Columbian Exposition jigsaw puzzle oddity

As January 29 is National Puzzle Day, let’s take a look at an unusual jigsaw puzzle depicting the 1893 World’s Fair. A jigsaw puzzle titled "The 1893 World's Fair" from the Nice Card Company shows an impossible view of MacMonnies Fountain and the Agricultural Building. Produced by the Nice Card Company, “The 1893 World’s Fair” is a 500-piece, 18-by-24-inch jigsaw puzzle. The assembled image is a photograph of the front part of MacMonnies Fountain on the west [...]

By Scott|2024-01-25T17:02:22-06:00January 29th, 2024|Categories: PRODUCTS|Tags: Grand Basin, MacMonnies Fountain|0 Comments

159. Picturesque World’s Fair – The North Front of the Agriculture Building and Lawn
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159. Picturesque World’s Fair – The North Front of the Agriculture Building and Lawn

REPRINTS

159. Picturesque World’s Fair – The North Front of the Agriculture Building and Lawn

THE NORTH FRONT OF THE AGRICULTURE BUILDING, AND LAWN.—Between the magnificent Agriculture Building and the Grand Basin was a lawn not very broad, but nearly a thousand feet in length, resting the eye with its strip of green, and giving room for a just estimate of the architectural beauties displayed above. In the view given here is afforded not only a charming perspective of the Agriculture Building's graceful front, but of two Exposition features which commanded general admiration and [...]

By Randy|2023-12-27T09:06:06-06:00December 27th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Agricultural Building, colonnade, Grand Basin, Peristyle, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Statue of the Republic|0 Comments

154. Picturesque World’s Fair – East front of Machinery Hall and the Obelisk
Gallery
154. Picturesque World’s Fair – East front of Machinery Hall and the Obelisk

REPRINTS

154. Picturesque World’s Fair – East front of Machinery Hall and the Obelisk

EAST FRONT OF MACHINERY HALL, AND THE OBELISK.—The area of water extending to the south from the Grand Basin and known as the South Canal was so entirely surrounded by the beautiful in art or architecture that a view across it from any point was sure to be something captivating. The view above is from the northeast corner of the canal, just where the " Farmer's Bridge " terminated on the area in front of the Agriculture Building, with [...]

By Randy|2023-10-10T17:09:30-05:00July 27th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Agricultural Building, Alexander Phimister Proctor, Farmer's Bridge, Grand Basin, Machinery Hall, Obelisk, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 1: “Behold my grandeur!”
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The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 1: “Behold my grandeur!”

REPRINTS

The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 1: “Behold my grandeur!”

Continued from Introduction THE FAIR AS A SPECTACLE. How it seemed to a visitor—Strolling and dreaming by day and by night. By Charles Mulford Robinson Part 1: “Behold my grandeur!” As a loving word rings in the heart when the voice that breathed it is still, as a beautiful face dwells in Memory’s kingdom after years have flown, and a noble deed still lives though its occasion be passed, so the beauty of the Fair, written anew in thousands [...]

By Scott|2023-07-03T06:44:38-05:00June 30th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Charles Mulford Robinson, clock tower, Columbus Quadriga, Court of Honor, Grand Basin, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Peristyle, Statue of the Republic|2 Comments

128. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Falls of the Columbian Fountain
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128. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Falls of the Columbian Fountain

REPRINTS

128. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Falls of the Columbian Fountain

THE FALLS OF THE COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN.—Viewed from its front, and at a point not remote, the overflow of the Columbian Fountain afforded the spectacle of one of the most charming of'cataracts. The mass of water tumbled down from level to level in a great foaming semi-circle, until, finally, it plunged into the Grand Basin, a white sheet impress-ive in its beauty. Wider than the famous Falls of Minnehaha, though with not quite so much descent, the falls of the [...]

By Randy|2021-10-27T04:42:44-05:00October 27th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Columbian Fountain, gondolas, Grand Basin, MacMonnies Fountain, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

Death of the Republic: The fiery end to the golden colossus of the 1893 World’s Fair
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Death of the Republic: The fiery end to the golden colossus of the 1893 World’s Fair

HISTORY

Death of the Republic: The fiery end to the golden colossus of the 1893 World’s Fair

They toppled the Republic at dawn on August 28, 1896. As the first rays of the sun spread across Lake Michigan and into Jackson Park, a funeral pyre lit inside the colossus began to spread up the structure. A flash of light soon appeared in her raised left arm. On a pedestal in the lagoon, the ghostly goddess stood with impassive dignity as muffled cracking within her heralded impending doom. A halo of yellow light formed about her head, [...]

By Scott|2022-12-09T11:20:09-06:00August 28th, 2021|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: Court of Honor, Daniel Chester French, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, Grand Basin, Statue of the Republic|0 Comments

122. Picturesque World’s Fair – South Front of the Manufactures Building
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122. Picturesque World’s Fair – South Front of the Manufactures Building

REPRINTS

122. Picturesque World’s Fair – South Front of the Manufactures Building

SOUTH FRONT OF THE MANUFACTURES BUILDING.—While not its greatest frontage, the south end of the Manufactures Building was most familiar to Exposition visitors, facing as it did to the Court of Honor and affording between it and the Grand Basin a vantage point for seeing the fountains at play and the illumination of the buildings at night. The illustration above shows this frontage as well as that on the west, adjacent to the canal and the East Lagoon. The [...]

By Randy|2021-07-07T05:36:10-05:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Columbian Fountain, Court of Honor, Grand Basin, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Richard Hunt|0 Comments

121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights
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121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights

REPRINTS

121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights

THE GRAND BASIN AT NIGHT—SHOWING SEARCH-LIGHTS.—One of the charms of the night view over the Grand Basin was that it was always new, atmospheric or other causes producing varied effects, and the scene on one occasion being entirely different from that presented on another. And not only were atmospheric conditions fluctuating, but the artificial ones produced were made still more so, a new experience to the sight-seer after dark being thus assured beyond all peradventure. Here the great element [...]

By Randy|2021-06-25T05:22:10-05:00June 25th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, Grand Basin, illumination, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, search lights|0 Comments

Chicago00 Launches 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition VR Web Portal
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Chicago00 Launches 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition VR Web Portal

NEWS

Chicago00 Launches 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition VR Web Portal

Grab your Columbian Exposition return pass and head back to the 1893 World’s Fair virtually with the Chicago 00 Project, which has launched their 1893 World's Columbian Exposition VR web portal at https://1893.chicago00.org/. A partnership between the Chicago History Museum and filmmaker Geoffrey Alan Rhodes, the Chicago 00 Project has been producing a series of interactive multimedia experiences using historical images of important sites and events in Chicago. Their augmented reality app allows participant to overlay historic photos with [...]

By Scott|2020-06-29T10:42:24-05:00June 29th, 2020|Categories: NEWS|Tags: Chicago History Museum, Ferris Wheel, gondolas, Grand Basin, Horticultural Building, Jackson Park, Java Village, Lapland Village, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Midway Plaisance, Sitting Bull's Cabin, Wooded Island|0 Comments