Chicago's Exposition
the Columbian Exposition's effect on Chicago
Thesis
What was the Columbian Exposition?
Attractions, Buildings, and Fun Characteristics
The fair itself was extremely large. It had fourteen main buildings and two hundred ancillary buildings. The fairgrounds included a system of lagoons and waterways that were fed by Lake Michigan. Architects designed the layout, and the exposition was nicknamed the “White City” because all the buildings were painted white.
Each of the main buildings at the fair had a different theme, including government, mining, machinery, agricultural, manufacturing and liberal arts. In each building, fair goers could see the latest trends and inventions. Several popular products made their debut at the fair, some of which were Juicy Fruit gum, Aunt Jemima syrup, Cracker Jack popcorn, Shredded Wheat cereal, Pabst beer, the hamburger, diet carbonated soda, postcards, Quaker Oats, and the very first Ferris wheel.
There were also nearly 43 states and 50 foreign countries represented in the fair. The displays had statues of historical people representing their countries or states, cultural food, and pieces of artwork.
Once attendees were tired of walking through the 200 plus buildings, they could enjoy entertainment and relaxation in the Midway Plaisance, where rides, music, and refreshments created a carnival-like setting. In addition, the Midway Plaisance had a hot-air balloon ride, a zoo, reenactments of traditional Japanese and German villages, a swimming pool, and a wax museum. It was not possible to get through the entire fair in one day, so millions of people stayed overnight for at least one day in Chicago or nearby.
As one fair-goer once said about the Midway Plaisance, "There was something about the Midway Plaisance a peculiar attraction for me. It presents Asiatic and African and other forms of life native to the inhabitants of the globe. It is the world in miniature. While it is of doubtful attractiveness for morality, it certainly emphasizes the value, as well as the progress, of our civilization. There are presented on the Midway real and typical representatives of nearly all the races of the earth, living in their natural methods, practicing their home arts, and presenting their so-called native amusements," (Chauncey M. Depew).
The very first Ferris Wheel
("History Files - The World's Columbian Exposition.")
The Germany Building
The Electricity Building
Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted
Archetectural and Environmental Changes
Chicagoans are also affected by the fair because some of Chicago's very own museums owe a tribute to the Worlds Fair. For example, "Chicago's Field Museum owed its origin to the fair and opened in 1894 in the former Palace of Fine Arts, a building that would later be reconstructed to become the Museum of Science and Industry. The building that had housed delegates to world's congresses, would become the Art Institute of Chicago" (Rydell, Robert).
The planning and designing that went into the Exposition and its buildings also led to the "City Beautiful" Movement. This movement focused on "improving cities through order and culminated, for Chicago, in the 1909 Burnham Plan which had a major impact on Chicago's lakefront that is still evident," (p 107, Hales).
Burnham's "Chicago Plan" also traces directly back to the World's Columbian Exposition. After the fair, Burnham presented The "Chicago Plan"; another integrated series of projects that he believed would improve Chicago's lakefront. Some of the projects included building new and widened streets, parks, new railroad and harbor facilities, and civic buildings. Although only portions of the plan were acted upon, the plan reshaped Chicago, and was an important influence on Chicago's field of city planning.
Technology
The Fair also showed Chicagoans, and all visitors alike, that electricity was not something they should be afraid of, but something they should celebrate. The fair set Chicago on the path of innovation of the twentieth century. "No longer was technology to be the frightening or overpowering symbol of the shift from an agrarian to an industrial nation, but the harbinger of a new age of American progress," (Rose, Julie) .
Change in spirits
What were the goals? Were they reached?
Overall, pretty much all of the goals were reached. The fair ended up showing Americans that ethnic and cultural differences did not matter. After the Fair, American's attitudes on other cultures were strongly influenced, and people became more tolerant. The Fair was also a huge financial success. It brought in more than the $28 million spent on it.
Was it a success? How did people respond to it?
Sources
"Chicago, City of the Century." PBS. PBS, 2003. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.
Di Cola, Joseph M M., and David Stone. Chicago's 1893 World's Fair. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2012. Print.
Hales, Peter B. Spectacle in the White City- The Chicago 1893 World's Fair. Mineola, NY: Calla Editions, 1979. Print.
"History Files - The World's Columbian Exposition." History Files - The World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago Historical Society, 1999. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.
Lewis, Russell. Historic Photos of the Chicago World's Fair. Nashville, TN: Turner Pub, 2010. Print.
Rose, Julie K. "World's Columbian Exposition: The Legacy of the Fair." World's Columbian Exposition: The Legacy of the Fair. N.p., 1996. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.
Rydell, Robert W. "World's Columbian Exposition." World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago Historical Society, 2005. Web. 05 Jan. 2014.
"World's Columbian Exposition of 1893." World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Paul V. Galvin Library, 15 Mar. 1999. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.