The Chicago World’s Fair, officially known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, occurred in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893. This international event celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492.
The fair’s centerpiece in Jackson Park was a grand water basin symbolizing Columbus’s historic voyage. The event significantly impacted American architecture, art, and industrial innovation, and greatly influenced Chicago’s image.
Renowned architects such as John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Charles B. Atwood designed the fairgrounds, following Beaux-Arts principles of neoclassical architecture, symmetry, and grandeur. Many buildings were coated in white, giving the fair its famous nickname, the “White City”
Spanning 690 acres, the exposition featured nearly 200 temporary buildings, lagoons, and canals. It showcased the cultures of 46 countries. Norway contributed a Viking ship replica, the Gokstad, which was sailed across the Atlantic by Captain Magnus Andersen. Today, it is housed in Good Templar Park, Illinois, awaiting restoration.
The exposition attracted over 27 million visitors, becoming a symbol of America’s growing influence in the world.
In addition to international exhibits, 34 U.S. states had their pavilions, each representing unique architectural styles. During Nebraska Day, feminist author Kate McPhelim Cleary’s poem “Nebraska” was recited to celebrate the state.
One of the key structures was the “Greatest Refrigerator on Earth,” designed by Franklin P. Burnham, which showcased new freezing technology and even featured an ice-skating rink. Sadly, on July 10, 1893, a fire destroyed the building, claiming the lives of 12 firefighters and 3 civilians. The only surviving artifact was a 12-foot copper statue of Christopher Columbus, now housed at the Chicago Fire Museum as a memorial to those lost ().
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