Biography

The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair and Chicago Columbian Exposition, was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the New World in 1492.

The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair and Chicago Columbian Exposition, was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the New World in 1492. The fair ran from May 1 to October 30, 1893, and more than 27 million people attended the exposition during it's six-month run. The exposition covered 690 acres and featured nearly 200 temporary buildings, canals, lagoons, and people and cultures from 46 countries. Many states also had their own buildings or pavilions to advertize their acheivements on an international stage. The color of the material generally used to cover the buildings facades gave the fairgrounds its nickname, the White City. The White City is largely credited for ushering in the City Beautiful movement and planting the seeds of modern city planning.

The World's Columbian Exposition was the first world's fair with an area for amusements strictly separated from the exhibition halls, and included the original Ferris Wheel, built by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. The fair ended with the assassination of mayor Carter Harrison, Sr. by Patrick Eugene Prendergast two days before the fair's closing. Closing ceremonies were cancelled in favor of a public memorial service.

Of the more than 200 buildings erected for the fair, the only two which still stand in place are the Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Indsutry) and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building (now the Art Institute of Chicago). Since many of the other buildings at the fair were intended to be temporary, they were removed after the fair. There were plans to refinish the exteriors in marble or some other material, but these were abandoned in July 1894, when much of the fair grounds was destroyed in a fire.

Citation:

Wikipedia, via WWW, Feb. 11, 2019 (The World's Columbian Exposition. aka the Chicago World's Fair and Chicago Columbian Exposition. world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the New World in 1492; ran from May 1 to October 30, 1893; more than 27 million people attended the exposition during it's six-month run; covered 690 acres and featured nearly 200 temporary buildings, canals, lagoons, and people and cultures from 46 countries; many states also had their own buildings or pavilions to advertize their acheivements on an international stage; the color of the material generally used to cover the buildings facades gave the fairgrounds its nickname, the White City; largely credited for ushering in the City Beautiful movement and planting the seeds of modern city planning; the first world's fair with an area for amusements strictly separated from the exhibition halls; included the original Ferris Wheel, built by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr; ended with the assassination of mayor Carter Harrison, Sr. by Patrick Eugene Prendergast two days before the fair's closing; vlosing ceremonies were cancelled in favor of a public memorial service; only two buildings which still stand in place are the Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Indsutry) and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building (now the Art Institute of Chicago); since many of the other buildings at the fair were intended to be temporary, they were removed after the fair; plans to refinish the exteriors in marble or some other material, but these were abandoned in July 1894, when much of the fair grounds was destroyed in a fire)

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