Iowa State Band Performs on Inaugural Spin of the Ferris Wheel

The great Ferris Wheel opened to the public on June 21, 1893. Though more than a month late (the fair opened on May 1), the wheel became one of the most popular attraction of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Some 2,000 spectators gathered on the Midway Plaisance for the opening ceremony. The festivities began at 3 pm with speeches by Robert W. Hunt, President of the Ferris Wheel Company; George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., engineer and designer of the metal [...]

By |2018-09-02T09:33:06-05:00June 21st, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment
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June 16, 2018: It’s Your Park Day (with tour) on Midway Plaisance

June 16, 2018, is "It's Your Park Day" in Chicago, the the Chicago Parks Foundation's annual citywide volunteer day, celebrating Chicago's beautiful green spaces and the communities who support them. One site includes Midway Plaisance Park, site of the great Midway attraction of the 1893 World's Fair. In addition to a park clean-up (all morning), there will be a free historical walking tour to mark the 125th anniversary of the World's Columbian Exhibition and the first Ferris Wheel located [...]

By |2018-07-02T16:02:32-05:00June 2nd, 2018|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments
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Vienna Beef History Museum opens in Chicago

We have not yet reached the dog days of summer, but Chicago is already celebrating its most famous dog, with the opening of the Vienna Beef History Museum. The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition launched the careers of many now-famous food items, including shredded wheat, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, chili, brownies, and one of Chicago’s iconic bites: the hot dog. The Vienna beef hot dog made its debut at the World’s Fair at a stand operated by Austrian-Hungarian immigrants Emil [...]

By |2023-04-09T08:56:33-05:00May 31st, 2018|Categories: EXHIBITS (current), NEWS, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , |2 Comments
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May 4-Nov. 25, 2018: “Celebrating Libbey Glass, 1818-2018” at Toledo Museum of Art

The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) currently has an exhibit commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Libbey Glass Company. Celebrating Libbey Glass, 1818-2018 features several pieces showing the Toledo glassmaker’s contributions to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The Libbey Glass Works building on the Midway Plaisance. [Image from Views of the World's Fair and Midway Plaisance (Conkey, 1894).] The Libbey Glass Works building, located at the east end of the Midway Plaisance at the Columbian Exposition, served [...]

By |2024-01-15T07:40:52-06:00May 20th, 2018|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: , , , , , |3 Comments
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“Shock of the New: The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair” on BackStory

On May 11, the American history podcast BackStory released episode #0238, an hour-long exploration of the Columbian Exposition titled “Shock of the New: The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair.” Hosts Ed Ayers, Nathan Connolly, and Joanne Freeman invite listeners to visit the fairgrounds starting with a segment called “Dreaming Bigger.” Historian Bernie Carlson then explores the role of electricity at the fair in “Electric Feel.” Purdue University Associate Professor & Director Women's Studies Tracey Jean Boisseau highlights the [...]

By |2022-10-08T09:32:36-05:00May 13th, 2018|Categories: AUDIO, NEWS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Ferris Wheel (p. 48)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 48 – THE FERRIS WHEEL THE FERRIS WHEEL.—What the Eiffel Tower was to the Paris Exposition the Ferris Wheel was to the Columbian. Like the Eiffel Tower, it was a triumph of engineering and an example of metal construction on a gigantic scale, but it had the additional feature of activity. It was in motion, a monster plaything, a device for furnishing a novel experience to the multitude. The [...]

By |2018-05-07T05:34:34-05:00May 7th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Opening Day, Part 2: Presidential Procession to the Fairgrounds

Presidential Procession to the Fairgrounds This is Part 2 of our series “Opening Day of the World’s Fair,” which explores the events of May 1, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The full series can be found here. Finely decorated with flags and bunting The Auditorium Building, where the Duke of Vergua stayed. [Image from the Rijksmueum, Amsterdam.] On the morning of Opening Day of the 1893 World’s Fair, the center of attraction in downtown Chicago [...]

By |2021-06-07T16:11:21-05:00April 23rd, 2018|Categories: OPENING DAY|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The German Castle (p. 46)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 46 – THE GERMAN CASTLE THE GERMAN CASTLE.—The most notable feature of the German Village in Midway Plaisance was, assuredly, the German Castle, a manner of structure with which very few save foreign visitors were at, all familiar. It bore little resemblance to the ideal fortress of the Middle Ages, even to those upon the Rhine whence robber barons descended upon passing bodies of traders or to make war [...]

By |2018-04-14T06:44:54-05:00April 14th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , |1 Comment
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An Irish Serenade for President Cleveland

Continuing our celebration this week of both St. Patrick’s Day and the anniversary of President Grover Cleveland’s birth, we present this annotated report from the May 2, 1893, edition of the San Sabo (TX) News. The article describes how a group of Irish women from the Midway serenaded President Cleveland as he departed Chicago after the Opening Ceremony of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. _________________________________________________________________________ OFF TO WASHINGTON Photograph of Grover Cleveland. [Image from Dedicatory and Opening Ceremonies [...]

By |2018-03-18T10:19:10-05:00March 19th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Grover Cleveland’s Big Impression on the Midway

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Stephen Grover Cleveland on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey. The second inauguration of Grover Cleveland as the 24th President of the United States was held on March 4, 1893, less than two months before the opening of the World’s Fair in Chicago on May 1. Having previously served as the 22nd president, Cleveland is the only U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms. Egyptian Temple Reproduction showing the [...]

By |2018-03-16T17:07:37-05:00March 18th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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