The Swami and the Street Sign

Chicago Public Radio’s Curious City, the long-running series on WBEZ that answers questions from listeners about the city and region, has a episode that does a deep dive into one of the most revered visitors to the 1893 World’s Fair. Hindus around the world learn about Swami Vivekananda’s visit to Chicago and his public lectures during the World’s Parliament of Religions in September 1893. The Curious City episode “Why did an honorary street sign go missing in Chicago?” explores [...]

By Scott|2025-07-08T06:15:35-05:00July 8th, 2025|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , , |0 Comments
Read More

Season’s Readings: 2023 Books about the World’s Columbian Exposition

This has been a year of rich and valuable additions to the Columbian Exposition bookshelf. Summarized below are important new nonfiction works that explore connections between the Chicago fair and Western Pennsylvania, Lebanon, England, and Massachusetts. Two others look at the religious and spiritual legacy of the Columbian Exposition. New fictional works explore the fairgrounds though the eyes of visitors in both realistic stories and magical adventures. We also include a few late additions that we missed last season. [...]

By Scott|2023-12-06T14:37:41-06:00December 6th, 2023|Categories: FICTION, NEWS, PRODUCTS, RESEARCH|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
Read More

Sep. 14, 2023 – Jan. 13, 2024: Harriet Monroe & the Open Door (Chicago)

The temporary exhibition Harriet Monroe & the Open Door at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago showcases the fascinating line connecting today’s world-renowned poetry magazine back to a poem written for the 1893 World’s Fair. Archival documents and photographs on display with accompanying descriptive texts tell the story of Harriet Monroe, her “Columbian Ode” poem, and the landmark copyright lawsuit that helped launch Poetry magazine. Part of the exhibition display for Harriet Monroe & the Open Door at the [...]

By Scott|2024-02-10T08:51:15-06:00October 15th, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
Read More

Sep. 9, 2023: “Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 Sojourn in Chicago” (Chicago)

The Art Institute of Chicago will host a presentation on "The Monk, the World’s Parliament, and the Museum—Swami ’s 1893 Sojourn in Chicago" on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Curator Dr. Madhuvanti Ghose will discuss the time in 1893 when an unknown Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda, travelled from Calcutta to Chicago to deliver a speech at the inaugural session of the World’s Parliament of Religions held at The World's Columbian Exposition. The oration, delivered in what is today the Art [...]

By Scott|2023-10-02T13:35:51-05:00September 1st, 2023|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , |0 Comments
Read More

The Indian guru who spoke at the 1893 World’s Fair

“One morning in September 1893, a 30-year-old Indian man sat on a curb on Chicago’s Dearborn Street wearing an orange turban and a rumpled scarlet robe. He had come to the United States to speak at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, part of the famous World Columbian Exposition. The trouble was, he hadn’t actually been invited …” Read more about Swami Vivekananda’s time at the 1893 World’s Fair in Jennie Rothenberg Gritz's “The Indian Guru Who Brought Eastern [...]

By Scott|2022-10-08T09:53:16-05:00October 11th, 2022|Categories: NEWS|Tags: , |0 Comments
Read More

Finding the Fair at the Field

In terms of quantity and quality, one of the greatest collections of objects from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition resides in the Field Museum in Chicago. The permanent collection is a treasure trove of unique and fascinating items from the 1893 Exposition. We visited the museums several times recently to take in some of the temporary exhibits having World’s Fair materials on display and share a few photos here. Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation ran from July [...]

By Scott|2019-02-12T08:07:01-06:00February 10th, 2019|Categories: EXHIBITS (current), EXHIBITS (past), NEWS|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
Read More

Swami Vivekananda’s Speech at the Opening of the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, September 11, 1893

Swami Vivekananda (center) and other East India Delegates to Congress of Religions at the 1893 World’s Fair. [Image from Pictorial Album and History of the World’s Fair and Midway (Harry T. Smith & Co., 1893).] Sisters and Brothers of America, It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; [...]

By Scott|2018-09-11T06:49:46-05:00September 11th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: , |1 Comment
Read More

Sept 11, 2018: Remembering Swami Vivekananda’s Address at the 1893 World’s Fair

The state government of Bengal has declared a day of celebration for September 11, 2018, to honor the 125th anniversary of when Swami Vivekananda addressed the World’s Parliament of Religions at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Plans include seminars and symposia and a light and sound program at Swami Vivekananda's ancestral house. From September 7-9, thousands of delegates will gather for the second World Hindu Congress in Lombard, Illinois, with an objective of re-connecting Hindus worldwide with [...]

By Scott|2022-03-05T10:33:49-06:00September 11th, 2018|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
Read More
Copyright 2024 WorldsFairChicago1893 | All Rights Reserved |
Go to Top