U.S. Government Building 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

REPRINTS

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!) [...]

Tea from the Boston Tea Party at the 1893 World’s Fair
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Tea from the Boston Tea Party at the 1893 World’s Fair

HISTORY

Tea from the Boston Tea Party at the 1893 World’s Fair

Two hundred and fifty years ago, on December 16, 1773, American colonists angry at the British crown for imposing taxation without representation, staged what became known as “The Boston Tea Party.” This act of colonial defiance to British rule has become a legendary part of American history, although aspects of the story are steeped in myth. Some of the tea from Boston Harbor appears to have made its way to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In the [...]

By Scott|2023-12-16T12:18:20-06:00December 16th, 2023|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: Board of Lady Managers, Children's Building, U.S. Government Building, W.W. Denslow|0 Comments

152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building
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152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building

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152. Picturesque World’s Fair – California Sea Lions in the Government Building

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS IN THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING. —The California Sea Lions, which afforded such a fine illustration of the taxidermist's skill and attracted so much comment in the Government Building, were like old friends, not merely to Californians who had seen them or their relations, enjoying themselves in the waters of the coast, but to thousands of people familiar with scenes in the parks of the great cities. The Sea Lions exhibited in the Government Building were fine specimens, [...]

By Randy|2023-05-30T05:51:57-05:00May 30th, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Building|0 Comments

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

REPRINTS

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 [...]

143. Picturesque World’s Fair – Under the Government Building Dome
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143. Picturesque World’s Fair – Under the Government Building Dome

REPRINTS

143. Picturesque World’s Fair – Under the Government Building Dome

Whatever might have been thought of the beauties of the United States Government Building as a whole, there was but one opinion as to the attraction of one scene its interior presented, that being directly underneath the dome of the great structure, and having for its single unique exhibit a house made within the trunk of one of California's monster trees. The section of trunk shown was thirty feet long and twenty-three feet across, and was divided laterally into [...]

By Randy|2023-12-05T09:39:10-06:00September 19th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: California State Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, U.S. Government Building|0 Comments

137. Picturesque World’s Fair – North and West from the Government Building
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137. Picturesque World’s Fair – North and West from the Government Building

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137. Picturesque World’s Fair – North and West from the Government Building

NORTH AND WEST FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING.—From the dome of the Government Building the prospect north and west afforded as much variety as could be had from any point of observation of the Fair Grounds, since in other directions the view was either much shorter or was cut off by the huge department structures. The illustration shows the Fisheries in the foreground, the details of the south façade of the main building outlined very clearly at such short distance. [...]

124. Picturesque World’s Fair – State Buildings Looking South
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124. Picturesque World’s Fair – State Buildings Looking South

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124. Picturesque World’s Fair – State Buildings Looking South

STATE BUILDINGS—LOOKING SOUTH.—The city of State Buildings at the north end of the Fair Grounds afforded many interesting bird's-eye views, of which one of the prettiest is given in the accompanying illustration. The view taken is from an elevated point at the northern extremity of the inclosed area, and very nearly at the center east and west. In the foreground, at the right, appears the log-built chalet of Idaho, beyond which is the Maryland Building, the gable of that [...]

“Farthest North”: An Arctic Tableau at the 1893 World’s Fair
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“Farthest North”: An Arctic Tableau at the 1893 World’s Fair

HISTORY

“Farthest North”: An Arctic Tableau at the 1893 World’s Fair

Crowds gather at the 1893 World's Fair to see a panorama depicting the Greely Expedition to the North Pole. [Image from the Illustrated American World's Fair Special Issue, 1893.] Seventy five years ago today, arctic explorer David L. Brainard (1856–1946) died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. He was the last survivor of the famous Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881–84 under the command of Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely (1844–1935), whose final resting place is close [...]

By Scott|2021-05-08T14:38:44-05:00March 22nd, 2021|Categories: HISTORY|Tags: U.S. Government Building|0 Comments

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

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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 [...]