Ontario’s Mammoth Squash at the 1893 World’s Fair

So many things were big, big, BIG at the 1893 World’s Fair that it may have been easy to miss the world’s biggest squash. On display in the Horticultural Building in late September was a quarter-ton “monster squash” from Canada. Gourdzilla received some proud coverage back home in the September 29, 1893, issue of the Windsor Star, which reported on the sensational vegetable: “Ontario is again the sensation provider for the fair. No longer is the “Canadian Mite,” as [...]

By |2021-04-02T11:21:04-05:00November 26th, 2020|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: |1 Comment
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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 |2020-06-29T10:42:24-05:00June 29th, 2020|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Updates on Plans for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition emerged from an idea to a White City on the lake in a little more than three years. Building the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) along one edge of Jackson Park certainly will take much longer—if it materializes in that location at all. “The Obama Foundation first announced its site in Jackson Park back in 2016 and hoped to break ground in late 2018 after gaining city approvals that spring.” reports Curbed Chicago. “Two years [...]

By |2020-01-31T16:20:49-06:00February 2nd, 2020|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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THE CITY OF WONDERS: A Souvenir of the World’s Fair (Chapter 13)

THE CITY OF WONDERS A SOUVENIR OF THE WORLD'S FAIR by Mary Catherine Crowley (1894)

By |2024-09-22T10:10:23-05:00January 3rd, 2020|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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Sept. 25, 2018: World’s Fair Auction #32 closes

Columbian Exposition collectors may be interested in World’s Fair Auction #32, now open for preview. Online bidding closes on September 25th, 2018, at 10:00 PM EDT. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/CATALL.CGI. Lots 14 through 57 relate to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include: a rare 14-by-11-inch poster of the Viking Ship; a milk glass tumbler depicting the Illinois State Building; a jig-saw puzzle picturing Horticultural Hall; a "Chicago Exposition 1893" globe inkwell; an ornate "Columbian Fair Souvenir" [...]

By |2021-05-05T14:19:42-05:00September 7th, 2018|Categories: ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past), NEWS|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Inside the Administration Building Dome: “The Glorification of the Arts and Sciences” by William Dodge (Part I)

PART I: DECORATING THE DOME OF THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING “Fame comes only after death to those who have slaved during life.” —William de Leftwich Dodge The gem and crown of the Exposition Along with the Ferris Wheel and the Statue of the Republic, this magnificent structure is one of the most iconic images of the 1893 World’s Fair. With its grand and golden dome, the Administration Building towered over the fairgrounds from a commanding position of honor at the [...]

By |2022-03-05T10:33:42-06:00September 2nd, 2018|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Horticulture Building (p. 50)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 50 – THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING.—It is doubtful if among all the views taken upon the World's Fair grounds one has been secured which in beauty and general interest surpasses that given here. It is from the top of the Government Building looking west over the Wooded Island and commanding the whole splendid frontage of the Horticulture Building, a view which, from the nature of things, could [...]

By |2021-05-05T14:20:54-05:00May 17th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Updates on the Obama Presidential Center plans for Jackson Park

January brought a flurry of planning activity for the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) along with heavy gusts of protest against the proposed development in Jackson Park. Both those favoring and those opposing the OPC proposal looked back to the 1893 World's Fair and invoked Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for the park after the Columbian Exposition to support their position. On January 8, the Obama Foundation released new design plans for OPC space on the west side of the lagoon. The [...]

By |2021-05-05T14:21:30-05:00January 28th, 2018|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Get Your (So-Called) Orange Cider

You’ve just taken the thrill ride of your life—ascending 264 feet into the air on a giant rotating wheel of iron, viewing the expansive fairgrounds of the Columbian Exposition from a perspective intended only for birds, and gently returning to terra firma in a car filled with scores of other passengers. You need a drink. Visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair walking along the Midway may have spotted a little beverage stand tucked underneath the east side of the [...]

By |2022-10-15T17:52:50-05:00November 12th, 2017|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , , , , , , |1 Comment
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