Machinery Hall Archives - Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

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

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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 Making of the White City (Part 2)
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The Making of the White City (Part 2)

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The Making of the White City (Part 2)

[Continued from Part 1] A great stage decked with ambitious scenery Perhaps the first thing that would strike a stranger entering the World’s Fair grounds in the summer of 1892 would be the silence of the place, the next the almost theatrical unreality of the impression by the sight of an assemblage of buildings so startlingly out of the common in size and form. When I speak of the silence, I mean the effect of silence. There are seven [...]

The Girl Who Walked on a Monster’s Belt
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The Girl Who Walked on a Monster’s Belt

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The Girl Who Walked on a Monster’s Belt

“The Fair, considered as an electrical exposition only, would be well worthy the attention of the world.” —Murat Halstead, “Electricity at the Fair” Cosmopolitan, September 1893. A great central power plant inside of Machinery Hall powered most of the incandescent lamps, arc lamps, motors, and water pumps for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Capable of delivering more than 12,000 horsepower (9480 kilowatts), this was not only—by far—the largest power plant ever built but also a stunning exhibit of the [...]

By Scott|2023-12-27T09:31:30-06:00April 2nd, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Allis engine, Machinery Hall|0 Comments

136. Picturesque World’s Fair – Birds-Eye View of the Columbian Fountain
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136. Picturesque World’s Fair – Birds-Eye View of the Columbian Fountain

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136. Picturesque World’s Fair – Birds-Eye View of the Columbian Fountain

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN.—It was a merit of the famous Columbian Fountain and one indicative of its quality as a great work of art that it was beautiful from whatever direction a view of it might be taken. So perfect were the relations of its parts that even a bird's-eye view gave something symmetrical and picturesque In the illustration, the observer being almost directly north and at a slight elevation, minor details of the barge are not [...]

By Randy|2022-07-10T10:19:29-05:00March 15th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Agricultural Building, Columbian Fountain, Farmer's Bridge, Machinery Hall, MacMonnies Fountain, Obelisk, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

132. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Columbian Obelisk
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132. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Columbian Obelisk

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132. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Columbian Obelisk

THE COLUMBIAN OBELISK.- The Obelisk, which was the prominent object at the southern end of the South Canal, connected the wonderful civilization the World's Fair represented with the hardly less wonderful civilization of thousands of years ago. Ancient Egypt furnished, in a manner, her contribution to the architecture of the Columbian Exposition, the Obelisk, from a distance, reminding the observer of one of the " Cleopatra's Needles," of which, by the way, an exact reproduction was among the attractions [...]

By Randy|2022-01-08T17:22:45-06:00January 8th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Agricultural Building, Machinery Hall, Obelisk, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, South Canal, South Colonnade|0 Comments

127. Picturesque World’s Fair – Eastern Portal of Machinery Hall
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127. Picturesque World’s Fair – Eastern Portal of Machinery Hall

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127. Picturesque World’s Fair – Eastern Portal of Machinery Hall

EASTERN PORTAL OF MACHINERY HALL.—The view here given is an admirable one of the eastern entrance to Machinery Hall and makes plain the remarkable architectural style of that great edifice. The entrance has been described at length, but only such a view as this, the reproduction of a photograph taken from the Agriculture Building at a point directly across the canal, could bring out the charming details. The portico of this entrance was a popular resort because here was [...]

By Randy|2021-10-16T05:24:37-05:00October 16th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Agricultural Building, gondolas, Machinery Hall, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, South Canal|0 Comments

123. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Boiler-Room of Machinery Hall
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123. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Boiler-Room of Machinery Hall

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123. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Boiler-Room of Machinery Hall

THE BOILER-ROOM OF MACHINERY HALL.—Never before was such a boiler-room as that which delighted engineers in Machinery Hall. It must needs be enormous, for it supplied the force for all the lights and machinery of the great buildings, but those who had never seen it were none the less astonished when they entered the great room. It extended north and south in the annex, and to look down it was like looking down a street the end of which [...]

By Randy|2021-07-27T06:51:41-05:00July 27th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: boiler-room, Machinery Hall, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR|0 Comments

Feral Feline Fights for Food on the Fairgrounds
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Feral Feline Fights for Food on the Fairgrounds

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Feral Feline Fights for Food on the Fairgrounds

Several media outlets, including the Guardian and People, are reporting on Chicago’s use of feral cats to beat back our nationally recognized rat population. It’s old news. We’ve been relying on our feline friends since at least the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. “Not many people are aware that the World’s Fair has a cat,” wrote the Chicago Tribune in September 1893. “This ignorance on the part of visitors is largely due to the fact that the cat does not appear [...]

By Scott|2021-05-16T12:56:25-05:00May 17th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, Machinery Hall, Midway Plaisance|0 Comments

94. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Obelisk and Southern Colonnade
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94. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Obelisk and Southern Colonnade

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94. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Obelisk and Southern Colonnade

THE OBELISK AND SOUTHERN COLONNADE.—A fitting termination made to the view south on the South Canal was formed by the Southern Colonnade with the Obelisk in front. The Obelisk was history repeated in stone, or at least in its imitation, for it was a reproduction of the famous Cleopatra's needle, the original of which, thousands of years old, was presented by the Khedive of Egypt to the United States and is now a prominent object in Central Park, in [...]