Episode 21 – The Third Star – part III
February 22, 2021 01:15:00
As we conclude this three-part mini-series on the Columbian Exposition of 1893, we talk about a few favorite exhibits and stories about the Fair, connections that exist still, and relevancy of the World's Fair today. A major event for Chicago and honored by a star on the Chicago Flag the Fair brought Chicago and the United States to the world stage to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus coming to America.
Join us as we speak with Paul Durica the Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library and historian and writer Jeff Nichols. And to complete this show, co-host Chris Lynch shares additional stories and connections with this World's Fair culled from his research on the topic. Join us for a fascinating ride through Windy City history on this episode about the Chicago Columbian Exposition and World's Fair of 1893.
Map of the Fair
Fair visitors on the Midway Plaisance
A belly dancer from the Streets of Cairo Exhibit
The dancer Little Egypt, stellar attraction at the World's Columbian Exposition
The first electric moving-sidewalk
1894 ruins of the Fair
A image of the destroyed Fair grounds after the 1894 fire
Links to Research and Historic Sources:
A history of the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, link to this four volume set in Hathi Trust
Panic of 1893 in Wikipedia
The Columbian Museum and history of the Field Museum from their website
Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of the Columbian Exposition in Encyclopedia Britannica
"The Man Behind the Man Behind Oz: W. W. Denslow at 150," by Michael Patrick Hern, July 5, 2006 on the AIGA website.
Harriet Monroe (1860 – 1936) a biography on the Poetry Foundation website
Lumpen Radio – community radio station located in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago at 105.5 FM
Aunt Jemima and the Pearl Milling Company
John Phillips Sousa a biography on the Library of Congress website
Thomas Edison film in 1896 of Little Egypt on YouTube
Music Lesson: The Streets of Cairo from Larsen Halleck on YouTube
Episode 20 – The Third Star – part II
We continue our discussion of Chicago's first World's Fair to learn why carousels were risque, the Ferris Wheel encouraged voyeurism, Columbus was cool, and unfortunately racism was the norm. In addition, the 1893 World's Fair was a launching pad for many new products, industries, and processes that were promoted, were popularized or invented as a result of the Fair, like the Post Card, Cracker Jacks, the Zipper, and many more.
In this second World's Columbian Exposition episode, we talk with historian and Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library Paul Durica, to explore the various exhibits, tone, and tenor of the Fair and Chicago in 1893. Plus, additional snippets from our interview with historian Jeff Nichols.
This World's Fair transformed a swampy patch of lakefront, which is now Jackson Park on Chicago's south side, and remnant lagoons and three harbors still exist there today. Besides these physical remainders of the Fair, this historic exhibition also marked Chicago history through the gathering of many influential people and ideas from around the world. This Fair was the impetus for the sharing of world cultures and intermixing of peoples and traditions that still impacts us today. Join us on this episode for more fascinating stories surrounding the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893.
The Liberal Arts Building
Turkish Village Exhibition
The Electricity Hall
Rickshaws on the Midway Plaisance
The Administration Building
The electrified Court of Honor of the White City
Chicago Tribune May 4, 2017 article, "Take a 'walking tour' of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition — the 'White City'"
Chicago by Day and Night, edited by Paul Durica and Bill Savage
The Midway Airport Historians
Chicago: City on the Make, by Nelson Algren
The Auditorium Theatre a national historic landmark
"Life at the Infamous Civil War Libby Prison," by Holly Goodbey
The History of the Carousel
The Making of the Modern U.S. website, "Chicago's World's Fair 1893" about the significance of electrification at the Fair
Potter Palmer
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, by Arlisha R. Norwood on the National Women's History Museum website
Frederick Douglass (c. 1818 – 1895) on the Biography website
The Redman's Rebuke, by Simon Pokagon
Studs Lonigan, by James T. Farrell
Julian Hawthorne (1846 – 1934) the American writer and journalist and son fo the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne
Steele McKaye actor, playwright, and inventor of the World's biggest Theater
Eadweard Muybridge (1830 – 1904) known for pioneering work on motion and early motion pictures
Frances Hodgson Burnett author of several children's novels including The Secret Garden (1911)
Museum of Science and Industry today
The building on the right as it was at the Columbian Exposition in 1893
Episode 19 – The Third Star – Part I
In 1893, Chicago is host to one of the most recognized and internationally famous world fairs, which honors the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus arriving in America. Granted it was a year later than planned, but it became known for the advancement and development of many companies and ideas. A specially built exposition landscape was created south of the then city limits in Jackson Park in what was the neighboring township of Hyde Park, which was annexed in 1891.
The White City as this world's fair became know was the first major use of electricity, which lit the World's Columbian Exposition buildings and grounds from May 1st until October 30, 1893. This Fair is legendary to Chicago history and commemorated by the third star in the Chicago Flag. With our previous episode we learned about the many things that occurred in Chicago in 1893 and here we dive into the Fair and interview historian and writer Jeff Nichols with some snippets from a future interview with historian Paul Durica. This is the first installment in a three part mini-series on the World's Columbian Exposition and the White City. We hope you will enjoy it.
Balloon on the Midway Plaisance
Cover for Sheet Music from the Fair
Circus performers on the Midway Plaisance
The U.S. Government Building at the Fair
Columbian Exposition Ferris Wheel
The White City
The World's Fair Chicago 1893 website offers a great collection of information about the Fair.
A Bird's Eye view of the World's Columbian Exposition is a great digital map on the Library of Congress' digital archives
A link to Jeff Nichols author page, including articles in the Chicago Reader
Paul Durica's Pocket Guide to Hell, i.e. Chicago
A history of the Alley L initiated for 1893 Chicago World's Fair
A history of the City Beautiful movement
The H. H. Holmes Hotel constructed by the infamous serial killer made popular in The Devil in the White City by Eric Larsen
Frederick Douglass' speech at the World's Columbian Exposition
A history on Ellis Bennett from the Chicago Reader, "A Story of Squatters' Rights, a House from the World's Fair, and a Remarkably Stubborn Man" by Jeff Nichols
The book World's Fair Notes: A Woman Journalist Views Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition, by Marion Shaw
An article on "Buffalo Bill Goosed the World's Fair," by Matt Braun
Alderman Johnny Powers
"The War of the Currents" between Thomas Edison and Nicholas Tesla and the lighting the World's Columbian Exposition
The New York Times review of the new biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight