search lights Archives - Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

25 Impressions of the 1893 World’s Fair
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25 Impressions of the 1893 World’s Fair

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25 Impressions of the 1893 World’s Fair

Toward the close of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, The Critic invited twenty-five notable scholars, writers, and leaders of the day to offer their brief impressions of the World’s Fair. At such a monumental event with so many novelties … what impressed them the most? It is interesting how frequently these contributors sing the same notes as they rhapsodize about the fairgrounds at night and the illumination of the Court of Honor, praise (except for Henry Fuller!) [...]

The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
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The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition

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The Ninth Wonder of the World: Turning Day into Night at the 1893 Columbian Exposition

“However grand, complete and astonishing the World's Fair may appear to the public by daylight, it is at night that it can be seen in all its splendor and magnificence,” wrote the World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated [read the article here]. Another description of the nightly illumination of the Court of Honor comes from the newspaper story reprinted below, originally from an (unknown) Chicago newspaper. Turning Day into Night “After dark at the World's Fair will be one of the [...]

By Scott|2024-04-05T08:26:47-05:00April 6th, 2024|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Auditorium, Charles T. Yerkes, Court of Honor, Diana, electric fountains, Grand Basin, illumination, search lights|0 Comments

In All Its Splendor and Magnificence: The World’s Fair at Night
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In All Its Splendor and Magnificence: The World’s Fair at Night

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In All Its Splendor and Magnificence: The World’s Fair at Night

The illumination of the White City evoked awe and wonder among visitors to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. “Nothing earthly can ever exceed this; man has reached high, higher, his fingers have almost touched the bars of heaven,” wrote Mrs. D. C. Taylor in her memoir Halcyon Days in the Dream City. [Read the full work here.] Reprinted below is a description of the fairgrounds at night published in the World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated. The World’s Fair at Night [...]

By Scott|2024-03-31T16:42:21-05:00April 5th, 2024|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Court of Honor, illumination, search lights|0 Comments

121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights
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121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights

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121. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Grand Basin at Night – Showing Search-Lights

THE GRAND BASIN AT NIGHT—SHOWING SEARCH-LIGHTS.—One of the charms of the night view over the Grand Basin was that it was always new, atmospheric or other causes producing varied effects, and the scene on one occasion being entirely different from that presented on another. And not only were atmospheric conditions fluctuating, but the artificial ones produced were made still more so, a new experience to the sight-seer after dark being thus assured beyond all peradventure. Here the great element [...]

By Randy|2021-06-25T05:22:10-05:00June 25th, 2021|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, Grand Basin, illumination, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, search lights|0 Comments

THE LADY OF THE LAKE by Julian Hawthorne Part IV: The Incomparable Loveliness of the Illuminations
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THE LADY OF THE LAKE by Julian Hawthorne Part IV: The Incomparable Loveliness of the Illuminations

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THE LADY OF THE LAKE by Julian Hawthorne Part IV: The Incomparable Loveliness of the Illuminations

Author Julian Hawthorne visited the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Like so many other visitors who recorded their impressions of visiting the World’s Fair, he offered some of his highest praise for the electrical lighting of the night scene in the Dream City, a “banquet of royal beauty.” Reprinted below is the fourth and final part of Julian Hawthorne’s “The Lady of the Lake” about his June visit to the fairgrounds and published in the August 1893 issue [...]

By Scott|2022-12-10T10:05:26-06:00February 7th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, Agricultural Building, Diana, Electricity Building, illumination, Julian Hawthorne, lagoon, search lights|0 Comments

A Night at the Exposition on the Fourth of July, 1893
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A Night at the Exposition on the Fourth of July, 1893

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A Night at the Exposition on the Fourth of July, 1893

“Combine all the adjectives in the English language that express beauty, loveliness, grace and perfection, even then you will fail to describe a gala night at the Exposition.” -- World’s Columbian Exposition Illustrated January 1894. July 4, 1893, was a special day at the World’s Columbian Exposition, designated as "United States Day." Attendance swelled to enormous 283,273 paid visitors, making this the largest attendance of any day so far—even greater than on Opening Day—and perhaps the largest festival attendance [...]

By Scott|2023-12-08T09:12:00-06:00July 4th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: “The Vanishing City”, Administration Building, Court of Honor, electric launches, fireworks, gondolas, Independence Day, July 4, Machinery Hall, Richard Watson Gilder, search lights, Wooded Island|0 Comments