Season’s Readings 2025: New Books about the World’s Columbian Exposition

New books explore the colorful campus and souvenir coins of the Columbian Exposition and profile a host of people associated with the Fair, including architect Stanford White and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, photographer Alice Austen, exhibitors Nancy Green (who portrayed Aunt Jemima) and Louis Vuitton, and another investigation of H.H. Holmes. That devil also creeps into a supernatural thriller. Note: We provide this announcement of new titles without any compensation from authors or publishers. We encourage shopping through independent local [...]

By Scott|2025-12-04T13:11:32-06:00December 4th, 2025|Categories: FICTION, NEWS, RESEARCH|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Nov. 9, 2024: “H. H. Holmes & New Links to Chicago & the White City” (Hazel Crest, IL, and online)

The South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society (SSGHS) will host a presentation on “H. H. Holmes & New Links to Chicago & the White City” at their meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Guest speaker Ray Johnson, known as “The History Cop,” will discuss his research into new links between killer H. H. Holmes and Thomas B. Bryan and Daniel H. Burnham, and a possible link to a swindle in England. The society meeting will take place from 10–11 [...]

By Scott|2025-01-20T09:40:51-06:00November 3rd, 2024|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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July 19-Aug. 4, 2024: “White City Murder” at the Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis)

Murder! Mischief! Dark Comedy! White City Murder, a macabre and hilarious tale of infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes at the 1893 World’s Fair, is playing at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis from July 19 to August 4, 2024. Featuring original music by Ben Asaykwee, the show promises a blend of laughter and chills. In two acts, the play includes over 30 characters, all played by two actors as they sing and dance their way through the life story one [...]

By Scott|2024-09-22T11:07:50-05:00July 20th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: |0 Comments
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2023 Columbian Exposition Gift Guide

If you are shopping for a gift to give a Columbian Exposition enthusiast or just want to treat yourself to a little something during the holiday season, check on these products relating to the 1893 World’s Fair. Note: We provide this announcement of new products without any compensation from vendors. Prices and availability subject to change. We already reported on a fun new World’s Fair board game, Chicago 1893: The City Beautiful, from Transit Tees ($40). Atlas Stationers has [...]

By Scott|2024-11-21T09:26:51-06:00December 1st, 2023|Categories: NEWS, PRODUCTS|Tags: , , |0 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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Oct 6-7, 2023: “The White City: An Audible Exhibition on H. H. Holmes, Murderer” (Chicago)

The Glessner House in Chicago will host the first staged reading of The White City: An Audible Exhibition on H. H. Holmes, Murderer on October 6 and 7, 2023. Theater in the Dark presents playwright Rick Kinnebrew’s captivating examination of one of the late 19th century’s most notorious characters. Directed by Corey Bradberry and presented in the style of classic radio dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, the production combines the written word, human voices, original music, and rich [...]

By Scott|2023-12-17T08:10:07-06:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments
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Season’s Readings: 2022 Books about the World’s Columbian Exposition

2022 brought several additions to the World’s Columbian Exposition bookshelf.

By Scott|2024-02-17T10:00:49-06:00December 1st, 2022|Categories: FICTION, NEWS, PRODUCTS, RESEARCH|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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“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 Scott|2024-06-30T09:33:11-05:00May 9th, 2021|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , |0 Comments
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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. [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:59:46-06:00April 30th, 2020|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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“Haunts of the White City” Offers a Few World’s Fair Ghost Stories

Haunts of the White City: Ghost Stories From the World's Fair, the Great Fire, and Victorian Chicago by Ursula Bielski. History Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781467139656. Softcover, 272 pages. $21.99. Even those of us who don’t believe in ghosts can enjoy a good ghost story. And Chicago is full of them. Ursula Bielski collects many of the more famous spectral tales, and few lesser-known phantoms, in Haunts of the White City. Spawning these claims of the supernatural are the expected [...]

By Scott|2025-01-30T18:39:41-06:00February 1st, 2020|Categories: PRODUCTS, RESEARCH|Tags: , |0 Comments
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“Chicago’s Lollapalooza Days: 1893-1934” Explores the Windy City’s Raucous Roots

Chicago's Lollapalooza Days: 1893-1934 by Jim Edwards. Arcadia Publishing, 2019. ISBN: 9781467103701. Softcover, 128 pages. $21.99. Partying ruled in the years between Chicago’s two World's Fairs, writes historian Jim Edwards in his introduction to Chicago's Lollapalooza Days: 1893-1934. The collection of 169 annotated images form a loose theme around the titular “lollapalooza” (a ball in the notorious First Ward, not a modern music festival). Edwards curates a visual review of many of the characters, fetes, and vice that enlivened [...]

By Scott|2025-01-30T18:39:09-06:00January 21st, 2020|Categories: PRODUCTS, RESEARCH|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Season’s Readings: World’s Columbian Exposition Books from 2019

2019 brought several additions to the World’s Columbian Exposition bookshelf.

By Scott|2022-04-15T09:06:05-05:00December 11th, 2019|Categories: FICTION, NEWS, PRODUCTS, RESEARCH|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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May 4, 2019: Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)

The Chicago History Museum is offering a “Ride Like the Devil: a Devil in the White City Bike Tour” on Saturday, May 4, 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. H. Holmes. The route will [...]

By Scott|2022-07-08T10:00:36-05:00April 4th, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Mar. 4-Apr. 22, 2019: Montclair Reads “The Devil in the White City” (Montclair, NJ)

The Montclair Library (Montclair, NJ) is hosting a series of events relating to the 1893 World’s Fair as part of their programming for Montclair Reads The Devil in the White City, focused on Erik Larson’s best-selling book (soon to be a miniseries) about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and a nearby killer, H. H. Holmes. Events include: Montclair in the Gilded Age. Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, Main Library Auditorium. Learn about life in Montclair in the late [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:47:07-06:00March 16th, 2019|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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“Devil in the White City” to be a Hulu Mini Series

One man built a dream city on the shores of Lake Michigan, attracting tens of millions of visitors from around the world. Another built a nightmare hotel in a neighborhood near the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Erik Larson entwined the true stories of architect Daniel H. Burnham and serial killer H. H. Holmes into a fascinating narrative in his 2003 bestseller The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. [...]

By Scott|2022-12-10T10:11:08-06:00February 12th, 2019|Categories: NEWS, VIDEO|Tags: , , , |1 Comment
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Aug. 11, 2018 Ride Like the Devil in a “Devil in the White City” Bike Tour (Chicago)

The Chicago History Museum is offering a “Ride Like the Devil: a Devil in the White City Bike Tour” on August 11, 2018, from 9 am to noon. 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. H. Holmes. The route will take riders [...]

By Scott|2022-07-08T09:59:44-05:00July 11th, 2018|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments
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Nov. 30, 2017: “Fair Game” theater show at Northwestern University

An interactive theater show opening soon at Northwestern University will allow audience members to walk through the magic (and menace) of the 1893 World’s Fair. “Fair Game: A Chicago Spectacle” by Sit and Spin Productions explores Chicago in the years 1891 to 1893, as the city builds and then hosts the Columbian Exposition. Written and directed by Eli Newell, the choose-your-own-adventure “FAIR GAME” is described this way: As the 1890s commence and the new century beckons, Chicago is a [...]

By Scott|2024-10-27T12:18:13-05:00November 18th, 2017|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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