Wooded Island – Chicago's 1893 Worlds Fair

180. Picturesque World’s Fair – Looking East from the Golden Door
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180. Picturesque World’s Fair – Looking East from the Golden Door

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180. Picturesque World’s Fair – Looking East from the Golden Door

LOOKING EAST FROM THE GOLDEN DOOR.—Very few views, possibly not more than one, were taken eastward from the Golden Door. That remarkable portal was so striking in itself that it did not occur, apparently, to any one of the various photographers to take any picture in its vicinity which did not include the glittering entrance. There were numerous views near the southern extremity of the lagoons, but there was only one taken at the extreme end and looking across [...]

By Randy|2025-12-14T09:51:58-06:00December 14th, 2025|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Electricity Building, Golden Door, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Mines and Mining Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Jackson Park Prints to Support Block Club Chicago
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Jackson Park Prints to Support Block Club Chicago

NEWS, PRODUCTS

Jackson Park Prints to Support Block Club Chicago

Block Club Chicago—a nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, nonpartisan, and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods—has two gorgeous poster prints depicting remnants of the 1893 World’s Fair. The 6-by-20-inch limited-edition prints by Steve Shanabruch print are premiums for donors who purchase, gift, or upgrade a Block Club subscription by December 31, 2024. The poster for Hyde Park shows a lovely vista of the Wooded Island and the original Palace of Fine Arts. The Woodlawn neighborhood poster features [...]

By Scott|2024-12-30T08:29:46-06:00December 30th, 2024|Categories: NEWS, PRODUCTS|Tags: Daniel Chester French, Palace of Fine Arts, Statue of the Republic, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Autumn on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park
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Autumn on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park

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Autumn on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park

"An Autumn Scene on Wooded Island" [Image from the Chicago Inter Ocean Sep. 30, 1893; digitally colored.] “Once a barren strip of sand protesting against the surrounding marshes,” the Wooded Island emerged “like a magnificent Turkish rug, rich with varied dyes, flung down upon a crystal floor,” wrote Shepp’s World’s Fair Photographed. “A profusion of flowers of every shade and hue gems the sod; groves of trees and masses of shrubbery lend further charm by the dark green [...]

By Scott|2024-09-22T10:19:33-05:00September 22nd, 2024|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Hunter's Cabin, rose garden, Wooded Island|0 Comments

161. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Golden Door, from the Wooded Island
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161. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Golden Door, from the Wooded Island

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161. Picturesque World’s Fair – The Golden Door, from the Wooded Island

THE GOLDEN DOOR, FROM THE WOODED ISLAND.— Among the great number of photographs, taken from different points of view, of the famous "Golden Door" it is doubtful if any surpassed in charming effect that from which the accompanying illustration is taken. The point afforded on the Wooded Island seems to have been at just the right distance from the Transportation Building and in just the right direction to allow of an absolute presentation of detail, while, at the same [...]

By Randy|2025-04-24T17:45:52-05:00February 18th, 2024|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Adler & Sullivan, Golden Door, Louis Sullivan, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Transportation Building, Wooded Island|0 Comments

The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 2: In Search of the Picturesque
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The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 2: In Search of the Picturesque

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The Fair as a Spectacle, Part 2: In Search of the Picturesque

Continued from Part 1 [Note: This text includes names and descriptions now considered culturally disparaging. Please see our statement on “Potentially Offensive Text and Images.”] THE FAIR AS A SPECTACLE. How it seemed to a visitor—Strolling and dreaming by day and by night. By Charles Mulford Robinson Part 2: In Search of the Picturesque But in that brief view a lesson was also taught you which you took to heart at once. It was that the charm of the [...]

By Scott|2023-07-02T13:10:12-05:00July 1st, 2023|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Charles Mulford Robinson, Christopher Columbus (statue by Lawrence), Columbian Guard, Court of Honor, Golden Door, gondolas, Ho-o-den, Japanese Tea House, MacMonnies Fountain, Palace of Fine Arts, rolling chairs, Transportation Building, Woman's Building, Wooded Island|1 Comment

145. Picturesque World’s Fair – West Main Entrance of the Manufactures Building
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145. Picturesque World’s Fair – West Main Entrance of the Manufactures Building

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145. Picturesque World’s Fair – West Main Entrance of the Manufactures Building

WEST MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE MANUFACTURES BUILDING.—Columbia Avenue, the great thoroughfare which extended north and south through the Manufactures Building, was crossed at the center by a similar broad way, and. this interior street where it terminated at the west afforded exit upon a particularly beautiful scene. Across the North Canal and at the entrance to the East Lagoon a bridge extended, over which passed and repassed the throng between the Manufactures and the group of large structures west [...]

By Randy|2022-11-13T09:03:45-06:00November 13th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: colonnade, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Obelisk, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Wooded Island|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. [...]

By Randy|2022-04-24T13:28:09-05:00April 24th, 2022|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Brazil Building, Café de la Marine, California State Building, Fisheries Building, Guatemala Building, Illinois State Building, Merchant Tailors' Building, Michigan State Building, New York State Building, Ohio State Building, Palace of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania State Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Spectatorium, Swedish Building (Sweden), U.S. Government Building, Venezuela Building, Washington State Building, Wooded Island|0 Comments

“Halcyon Days in the Dream City’’ Part 14: A Dream
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“Halcyon Days in the Dream City’’ Part 14: A Dream

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“Halcyon Days in the Dream City’’ Part 14: A Dream

Halcyon Days in the Dream City by Mrs. D. C. Taylor Continued from Part 13 We dreamed that we sat upon the sands of the lake shore, and that all about us, unnumbered as these sands, sat and stood a great multitude; thousands upon thousands of people, men, women, and children, from the babe in arms to the maiden and stripling, high and low, rich and poor, all crowding together, all were equal, and over all a great hush [...]

By Scott|2021-04-02T11:21:11-05:00November 25th, 2020|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: fireworks, Wooded Island|1 Comment

Chicago00 Launches 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition VR Web Portal
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Chicago00 Launches 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition VR Web Portal

NEWS

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 [...]

By Scott|2020-06-29T10:42:24-05:00June 29th, 2020|Categories: NEWS|Tags: Chicago History Museum, Ferris Wheel, gondolas, Grand Basin, Horticultural Building, Jackson Park, Java Village, Lapland Village, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Midway Plaisance, Sitting Bull's Cabin, Wooded Island|0 Comments

THE CITY OF WONDERS: A Souvenir of the World’s Fair (Chapter 13)
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THE CITY OF WONDERS: A Souvenir of the World’s Fair (Chapter 13)

REPRINTS

THE CITY OF WONDERS: A Souvenir of the World’s Fair (Chapter 13)

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

By Scott|2024-09-22T10:10:23-05:00January 3rd, 2020|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, Children's Building, Court of Honor, gondolas, Ho-o-den, Horticultural Building, illumination, Lake Michigan, Queen Victoria, rose garden, Woman's Building, Wooded Island|1 Comment

The (Im)Perfection of Rude Simplicity: Davy Crockett’s Descendant Visits the Hunter’s Cabin at the 1893 World’s Fair
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The (Im)Perfection of Rude Simplicity: Davy Crockett’s Descendant Visits the Hunter’s Cabin at the 1893 World’s Fair

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The (Im)Perfection of Rude Simplicity: Davy Crockett’s Descendant Visits the Hunter’s Cabin at the 1893 World’s Fair

Many visitors to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago on June 9, 1893, were eagerly trying to spot the Infanta Eulalia, the visiting Princess from Spain, as she toured the White City and Midway Plaisance. Meanwhile, just off the south end of the Wooded Island, a direct descendant of the legendary pioneer Davy Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) visited the quaint Hunter’s Cabin. Sponsored by Theodore Roosevelt and his Boone and Crockett Foundation and designed by prolific [...]

By Scott|2019-07-31T15:36:39-05:00August 17th, 2019|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Charles Atwood, Davy Crockett, Hunter's Cabin, Princess Eulalia, Theodore Roosevelt, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Spring 2019 Trivia Question
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Spring 2019 Trivia Question

TRIVIA

Spring 2019 Trivia Question

Our quarterly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. (You can sign up here.) The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The Spring 2019 Trivia Question In the image above can be seen the Wooded Island, spread out below the balloon. Just out the frame to the left (south) would have been a small log cabin, erected by future U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as a museum and memorial to honor [...]

By Scott|2024-05-29T14:20:35-05:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: TRIVIA|Tags: Charles Atwood, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Hunter's Cabin, Theodore Roosevelt, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Pictures from “Pictures from an Exposition”
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Pictures from “Pictures from an Exposition”

NEWS

Pictures from “Pictures from an Exposition”

“Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” has opened at the Newberry Library. “Pictures from an Exposition: Visualizing the 1893 World’s Fair” has opened at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The exhibition of nearly two hundred items from the World’s Columbian Exposition fills two galleries in the Library’s newly renovated main floor. Displays are organized into sections on: • Introduction • Construction • Maps and Bird’s Eye Views • Staff and Sculpture • Publicity and [...]

By Scott|2022-10-10T09:01:00-05:00September 30th, 2018|Categories: NEWS|Tags: Ferris Wheel, Fisheries Building, Glorification of the Arts, Hagenbeck's Animal Arena, lagoon, Michigan State Building, Newberry Library, sheet music, Simon Pokagon, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Wooded Island Well Suited for Climate Change
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Wooded Island Well Suited for Climate Change

NEWS

Wooded Island Well Suited for Climate Change

It is not easy to find good news in reports about climate change. A news story in the August 17, 2018, Chicago Tribune offered one small encouraging note in an otherwise distressing description of the impacts of climate change on the Chicago region. “The birches in the corner of your kid’s favorite park, the towering spruce in your suburban backyard, that graceful linden on your block — all are likely to disappear from Chicago’s landscape over the next few decades,” [...]

By Scott|2022-04-29T18:39:04-05:00August 21st, 2018|Categories: NEWS|Tags: Jackson Park, Wooded Island|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

REPRINTS

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

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Horticulture Building (p. 50)
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Horticulture Building (p. 50)

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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Horticulture Building (p. 50)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 50 – THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING.—It is doubtful if among all the views taken upon the World's Fair grounds one has been secured which in beauty and general interest surpasses that given here. It is from the top of the Government Building looking west over the Wooded Island and commanding the whole splendid frontage of the Horticulture Building, a view which, from the nature of things, could [...]

By Randy|2021-05-05T14:20:54-05:00May 17th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Festival Hall, Horticultural Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, William Le Baron Jenney, Wooded Island|0 Comments

Opening Day, Part 12: Tour of the Fairgrounds
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Opening Day, Part 12: Tour of the Fairgrounds

OPENING DAY

Opening Day, Part 12: Tour of the Fairgrounds

Tour of the Fairgrounds This is Part 12 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. After the “Banquet of Nations” luncheon, President Cleveland and his entourage embarked on a whirlwind tour of the Columbian Exposition grounds and buildings. They departed from the north entrance of the Administration Building where carriages were waiting. “President Cleveland [...]

What’s Left of the World’s Columbian Exposition?
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What’s Left of the World’s Columbian Exposition?

NEWS

What’s Left of the World’s Columbian Exposition?

“On its 125th birthday, what’s left from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition?” asked the Chicago Sun-Times this week. They note four remnants: the Palace of Fine Arts (rebuilt and now the Museum of Science and Industry); the Wooded Island; an original ticket booth now standing in Oak Park; and the 1918 “Golden Lady” statue, which is a reduced replica of the original 65-foot “Big Mary” Statue of the Republic. Their map of Jackson Park, allowing you to slide between 1893 and [...]

By Scott|2020-06-21T13:34:18-05:00April 28th, 2018|Categories: NEWS|Tags: Jackson Park, Maine State Building, Museum of Science and Industry, Pabst Pavilion, Palace of Fine Arts, Statue of the Republic, Viking Ship, Wooded Island|6 Comments

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (p. 21)
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (p. 21)

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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (p. 21)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 21 BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE WOODED ISLAND.—It was soon discovered after the World's Fair had become a reality, that, from various points of vantage, views could be secured of a scope and beauty unsought and unexpected by the architect or landscape gardener. From the tops of certain buildings there opened vistas such as could have only been imagined by the poet or the painter. The illustration given above [...]

By Randy|2018-03-11T14:39:04-05:00January 11th, 2018|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Transportation Building, U.S. Government Building, Wooded Island|0 Comments

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 7-8)
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PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 7-8)

REPRINTS

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 7-8)

PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 7 THE RUINS OF YUCATAN - To the mind of the student of the world's history or that of any one of ordinary learning and imagination, there was no more interesting exhibit in its department of the Exposition than were the ruins from the ancient cities of Yucatan. ' They told of a civilized race existing on this continent, and building palaces and temples of an elaborate order of [...]

By Randy|2017-12-17T11:19:22-06:00December 11th, 2017|Categories: REPRINTS|Tags: Administration Building, PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR, Ruins of Yucatan, Wooded Island|0 Comments