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 [...]

93. Picturesque World’s Fair – Southwest from the Government Building

SOUTHWEST, FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING—The view southwest from the roof of the United States Government Building embraced a great number of attractive objects. The east lagoon and more than half the Wooded Island appeared conspicuously in the foreground, and there was no elevated place in the grounds from which the island and lagoon could be seen together that did not command a sight worth seeing, for any lover of the beautiful. To the left, immediately m front, is the [...]

THE CITY OF WONDERS: A Souvenir of the World’s Fair (Chapter 5)

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

Tiffany Clock from the 1893 World’s Fair Sells for $150,000

(Left) The “Louis XV Clock” on display in the Tiffany Pavilion within the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.] (Right) The Tiffany clock today. Note the plain lower panel, compared to the image of the clock from 1893. [Image from Sotheby’s.] A magnificent clock manufactured by Tiffany & Company and exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair sold by Sotheby's at their June 4, 2019, auction [...]

By |2022-03-05T10:53:23-06:00August 22nd, 2019|Categories: ANTIQUES, NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – Looking North from the South Colonnade (p. 84)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 84 – LOOKING NORTH FROM THE SOUTH COLONNADE LOOKING NORTH FROM THE SOUTH COLONNADE.—In the opinion of many people the most striking extended view to be had upon the Fair grounds was from the Obelisk, at the southern extremity of the South Canal, or better still, from the Colonnade immediately in its rear. From this point opened a vista nearly a mile in length terminated only by the beautiful [...]

“She has waxed bigger and uglier than ever.” An Englishman’s View of 1893 Chicago

Mr. Harry Hems of Exeter, England, submitted the following report on his return visit to Chicago for the opening of the 1893 World’s Fair. At the Exposition, he worked in the British section of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. His unflattering missive from May 15, 1893, about “the most dangerous town in the world” was reprinted in the June 1 issue of the Irish Builder. Let’s hope the rest of Mr. Hems’ time at the Chicago fair left [...]

By |2019-05-10T18:33:42-05:00May 15th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: |0 Comments

Libraries at the Columbian Exposition

“Extremes meet at Chicago.” —librarian Caroline Harwood Garland. The 1893 World’s Fair was full of contrasts: exotic dancing on the Midway and educational exhibits; fountains illuminated by electricity and bibles illuminated by paintings, dynamos and the Dewey decimal system; balloon rides and books. Amidst the Cracker Jack and orange cider was also “food for reflection in the existence of so many libraries.” To celebrate National Library Week, let’s take a look at libraries at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [...]

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – East Lagoon by Moonlight (p. 77)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 77 – THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT THE EAST LAGOON BY MOONLIGHT.— The night scenes at the Fair were undoubtedly the most beautiful for those who liked dreamy pictures, or half darkness contrasted with a blaze of glorious lights, better than unvarying white beauty. The fireworks, the illumination about the Court of Honor, the colored effects upon the Wooded Island were all charming and, in addition to these, was [...]

Wind Yourself Up and Spring Forward

A timely reminder from World'sFairChicago1893.com to set your clocks ahead for daylight savings, which begins on Sunday, March 10, 2019. The Clock Tower of the Self-Winding Clock Company in the center of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. [Image from Scientific American, July 29, 1893.]

By |2019-03-08T19:15:41-06:00March 9th, 2019|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Sonneberg’s Santa Claus Visits the 1893 World’s Fair

Although the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition ran during the warm months of May through October, a touch of Christmas could be found on the fairgrounds. Nestled in the northwest corner of the German Pavilion inside the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building (Section F, 77-79), the toy manufacturers of Sonneberg, Germany, featured a lovely display of toys and dolls filling an ornate carriage and topped by a Christmas tree. A photograph of the German toy exhibit in the Manufactures [...]

By |2022-12-29T18:45:06-06:00December 24th, 2018|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
Go to Top