1893 Chicago World's Fair
The Midway Plaisance
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1893 Chicago World's Fair: Forerunner to Disneyworld!
The Chicago World's
Fair was a massive event. How can it be described? It
can be described as a forerunner of Disney World and the
EPCOT center, combining entertainment and educational
exhibits with the latest inventions! Walt Disney's
father was among the workers who constructed the
Columbian Exposition.
Chicago World's Fair Purpose
The purpose of the
Chicago World's Fair was to commemorate the 400th
anniversary of 1492 Christopher Columbus landing in the
New World and "to tell the story of the world's progress
through those four centuries." The Chicago World's
Fair provided a showcase for new inventions, new
products, different styles of architecture and art, and
numerous exhibits to cultural understanding and tourism.
Chicago World's Fair for kids
The World's Columbian Exposition, also
known as the Chicago World's Fair opened on May 1, 1893
by President Grover Cleveland and closed on October 30,
1893 (Columbus Day). The entrance fee was 25 cents. In
just six months it attracted over 27 million visitors
from all over the world.
Chicago World's Fair Purpose: Christopher Columbus
The great
explorer was remembered by the display a full size
replica of the Santa Maria caravel, the flagship of
Christopher Columbus, along with its sister ships, the
Nina and the Pinta. These authentic replicas of
the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta were built in
Spain and sailed for 147 days from Cadiz before they
dropped anchor in front of the Worlds’ Columbian
Exposition on July 7, 1893. The Santa Maria ship was the
centerpiece of the last day of the fair, Columbus Day.
Actors created a pageant featuring Christopher Columbus
with monks kneeling in prayer and natives of San
Salvador, the first land he sighted and visited on 12
October 1492.
Hosting the World's
Columbian Exposition
An 'Exposition' is a
public exhibition of industrial and artistic
productions, hence the name Columbian Exposition. There
was a race to host the World's Columbian Exposition
between Chicago, St. Louis, New York City, and
Washington DC. The United States Congress was in charge
of the selection and awarded the city of Chicago the
exposition. The World's Columbian Exposition soon became
known as Chicago World's Fair.
Chicago World's Fair for kids: History
The Chicago World's
Fair was not the first of its kind. Ideas for the
World's Columbian Exposition were gathered from similar,
previous events of the Crystal Palace Exhibition which
took place in London in 1851, the 1876 World's Fair in
Philadelphia and the Paris Exposition of 1878
which featured the great Eiffel Tower.
Jackson Park and the Midway Plaisance
The Chicago World's
Fair covered nearly 700 acres. The Jackson Park area,
bordering on Lake Michigan, housed the great buildings
and exhibits and the Midway Plaisance area housed the
great the Ferris Wheel with other entertainments and
attractions including different villages reflecting
different cultures and civilizations.
Chicago World's Fair Map
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1893 Chicago World's Fair Map
The Chicago World's
Fair Map provides a bird's eye view of the boats pulling
into the pier from Lake Michigan into the Jackson Park
area of the exposition and the giant
Ferris Wheel
towering in the distance in the Midway Plaisance area.
1893 Chicago World's Fair: The Pavilions
The Chicago World's
Fair was the first exposition to have national
pavilions. These pavilions represented all the states
and territories of America and 50 foreign countries.
Map of Chicago World's Fair: Themes
The Map of the Chicago
World's Fair shows the 10 main buildings covering the
themes of Manufactures, Transportation, Horticulture,
Machinery, Agriculture, Electricity, Mines, Fisheries,
Administration and the Venetian Village. Other buildings
included Art Galleries, the Woman's Building, the
Forestry, Mines, Electricity, Dairy, the Stock Pavilion
and the US Government Pavilion. There was even a Music
Hall and a Casino.
Inventions and
Facts about the Chicago World's Fair: Fun Facts for Kids
History and interesting info about the inventions displayed and the
Chicago World's Fair Facts for
kids are
detailed below. The history and information is told in a series of
fun facts providing a simple method of relating to the events and
inventions of the Chicago World's Fair. Cool, fun and interesting stats and
facts for kids about the World's Columbian Exposition.
Chicago World's Fair Facts for Kids
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 1: The opening celebration featured a
naval review of the leading warships of the world. The
35 warships of the era were joined by the three
Columbian caravels. The ships extended for 3 miles and
represented the United States, Great Britain, France,
Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Holland, and
Argentina.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 2: President Grover Cleveland and his
cabinet arrived at the opening ceremony on the
steel-clad yacht Dolphin which steamed between the two
lines of warships.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 3: The Director of the Columbian
Exposition was Charles Wacker who appointed a team of
Lady Managers who were put in charge of upholding the
moral tone of the exhibition
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 4: All of the states entered into the
scheme, each state had its own building and their total
appropriations amounted to $6,000,000.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 5: Each of the states of America had its
own building. Replicas of famous American icons were
created such as St Louis Arch made of sugar, the
Statue of
Liberty made out of salt and the
Brooklyn Bridge was
made out of soap..
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 6: The original Liberty Bell was brought
from Philadelphia for display
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 7: The locomotives on display included a
model of Stephenson's "Rocket" and the "John Bull" used
on the Camden and Amboy Railroad which was the oldest
locomotive in America.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 8: The American engineer George
Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. (1859-1896) created a giant
revolving observation wheel for the World’s Columbian
Exposition - it became known as the
Ferris Wheel
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 9: Inventions: Inventions and gadgets
included:
● Invention of the Ferris Wheel
● Spray paint was invented to
solve the problem of adding color to the enormous
buildings
● Telephone inventions
● An electric railway
● Neon lights and the
fluorescent light bulb inventions
● Invention of the vacuum
cleaner
● Invention of the electric
dishwasher
● Vaseline
● The zipper was also one of
the inventions on display
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 10:
The Midway Plaisance was one mile
long and was a unique feature of the Columbian
Exposition. The star of the show was of course the
massive Ferris
Wheel but the area covered by the Midway Plaisance
also included fantastic entertainment, live animals,
music and dancing. The Midway Plaisance featured:
● The Ferris Wheel
● The captive hot air balloon
(look at the top picture)
● The Hungarian Orpheum (the
Orpheum was an entertainment venue combining a music
hall and restaurant, complete with a gypsy
band)
● Irish Village featuring a
walk-in replica of Donegal Castle
● Lapland Village featuring the
reindeer
● A Japanese Bazaar
● A Chinese Theatre built using
large pagoda features
● Austrian Village selling
Austrian beer
● Cyclorama of the volcano of
Kilauea
● The Algerian and Tunisian
Palace and Theater
● A Street in Cairo, Egypt with
Egyptian jugglers, belly dancers and Damascan
Swordsmen
● An ostrich Farm, with live
ostriches
Chicago World's Fair Facts for Kids
1893 Chicago World's Fair
for kids
The info about the Chicago World's Fair provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 22nd and 24th President of the United States of America.
Facts about the Chicago World's Fair: Fun Facts for Kids
History and interesting info about the Chicago World's Fair Facts for
kids are
continued below. The history and information is told in a series of
fun facts about the Chicago World's Fair. Cool, fun and interesting stats and
facts for kids about the World's Columbian Exposition.
Chicago World's Fair Facts for Kids
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 11: The United States government issued
two commemorative coins. The half dollar coin featured
Christopher Columbus and the quarter coin depicted Queen
Isabella of Spain, who had funded the voyages of
Christopher Columbus. The commemorative quarter was
first U.S. coin to honor a woman.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 12:
The Bethlehem steam hammer was on
display at the Chicago World's Fair. It was the largest hammer in the world, 91 feet high and
weighed 125 tons. The massive, mechanically powered hammer was built
for forging large iron or steel components
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 13: The parks at the Chicago World's Fair
were beautiful and is estimated that 50,000 roses and
1,000,000 tulips were planted to delight the visitors
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 14: The first cable cars were in
operation in time for the Chicago World's Fair. On
October 9, 1893 (Chicago Day) thousands of people rode
cable cars to the 1893 Columbian Exposition.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 15: The Chicago World's Fair used 120,000
electric lights. Nikola Tesla was put in charge of the
lighting and power.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 16: Norway sailed a full-sized replica of
a Viking ship across the Atlantic ocean for the Chicago
World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 17: Architecture: The Renaissance style
of the Chicago World's Fair buildings was widely praised
for the beauty of its architecture.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 18: The Government Building included a
case of humming birds contained 133 varieties. In
another exhibit 106 families of American birds were
displayed. There were also stuffed flamingoes, Rocky
Mountain goats and sheep, armadillos, sea otters, bisons,
a walrus, crocodiles, fish and snakes.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 19: The Department of Ethnology at the
Chicago World's Fair featured figures of Eskimos and
Native American Indians including a tepee village.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 20: In the War Department section various
weapons and artillery were shown as exhibits at the
Chicago World's Fair. These included important artifacts
from history including:
● A six-pounder bronze gun
presented by Lafayette to the colonial forces
● The four-pounder gun that
fired the first shot in the Civil War
● Cannon used in the Mexican
War
● A wagon used by General
Sherman during his marches
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 21: The Machinery Hall at the Chicago
World's Fair had numerous exhibits grouped into:
● Apparatus and motors for the
generation and transmission of power
● Fire-engines, apparatus and
appliances for extinguishing fire
● Machines, apparatus and tools
for working and the manufacture of metals, textile
fabrics, clothing, wood, stone and clay
● Machines for type-setting,
printing, stamping and embossing, and for making
paper and books
● Photo-mechanical and other
mechanical processes for illustrating
● Machines and apparatus for
Lithography, zincography, and color painting
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 22: Food: Food was sold by a variety of
vendors at the Chicago World's Fair. However brand new
commercial products were also introduced including Cream
of Wheat, Juicy Fruit gum, Cracker Jack, Quaker Oats,
Shredded Wheat, the Hamburger, Chili Con Carne and Pabst
Blue Ribbon beer.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 23: In the State Department there was a
copy of the Declaration of Independence. Original
documents on display included Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation, the original journal of the Continental
Congress and presidential proclamations issued by
Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Polk,
Van Buren, Monroe, Lincoln, Grant, Arthur, and Hayes.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 24: Portraits of many famous people from
history were on display in the Art Galleries.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 25: Fountains: There were many beautiful
and highly decorative fountains at the Chicago World's
Fair. The fountain theme became more innovative when
California erected a fountain that spouted Californian
wine and France built a working fountain of perfume.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 26: Spain played an important role in the
Chicago World's Fair and displayed the jewels of King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 27: Thomas Edison displayed a tower of
light and a kinetoscope which was the earliest motion
pictures.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 28: Historic documents signed by
Napoleon, Tsar Alexander of Russia and Queen Victoria
were also included in the exhibits at the Chicago
World's Fair.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 29: The Chicago World's Fair was a great
success. It rejuvenated the city after the
Great Chicago Fire
of 1871. Unfortunately the Chicago World's Fair ended with two
more shocking events at the hands of a political
assassin and a serial killer.
Chicago World's Fair
Fact 30: October 28, 1893: Chicago’s Mayor
Carter Harrison was shot dead by Patrick Eugene
Prendergast just 2 days before the Columbian Exposition
was due to close. The closing ceremony at the Chicago
World's Fair was cancelled in favor of a public memorial
to the city’s mayor.
Chicago World's Fair Facts for Kids
1893 Chicago World's Fair
Serial Killer
The success of the Chicago
World's Fair was clouded by the story of
a notorious Serial Killer. After the
Columbian Exposition had ended the
crimes of a serial killer were
discovered. The name of the serial
killer was Dr. Henry Howard Holmes. Dr.
Holmes lured a number of fairgoers to
his World's Fair Hotel, later called the
" Murder Castle". It was here that the
serial killer tortured, mutilated and
killed what is believed to be over 200
victims and sold their corpses to
medical schools. The serial killer
confessed to 27 murders and was hung to
death on May 7, 1896. Dr. Henry Howard
Holmes was one of the first documented
serial killers in the United States.
Chicago World's Fair for kids: What happened to the exhibits?
Many of the many of the beautiful
buildings and pavilions were destroyed at Chicago
World's Fair in a fire
that swept many parts of the Exposition just before
it was due to close. However, many exhibits were
saved found their way into museums around the
country, including the Smithsonian Institution.
Map of Chicago World's Fair
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Map of Chicago World's Fair
The Map of the Chicago
World's Fair covers an area of 685
acres bordering on to Lake Michigan with
a scale of 580 feet to inch. The map
shows Jackson Park with a frontage of
one and a half miles on Lake Michigan
containing 600 acres, whilst the Midway
Plaisance, that connected Jackson and
Washington Parks. afforded an additional
85 acres more.
Map of Chicago World's Fair:
Transportation to the Expo
The Chicago World's
Fair Map shows a pier (with a moving
sidewalk) allowing people to use a boat
for transportation to the exposition and
the green area bottom left shows
railroad tracks leading to the Central
Station. More than 27 million people
from all parts of the world visited the
Expo over a six month period. The
Transportation Building at the Chicago
World's Fair exhibited methods of
transportation from a baby-carriage to
the steam locomotive.
Map of Chicago World's Fair
The Map of the Chicago
World's Fair shows a number of water
features including the North Pond at the
top of the map moving down to the Lagoon
that surrounded the Wooded Island, the
Basin overlooked by the Statue of the
Republic and the South Pond. The
progress of ship-building was displayed
which included a great model of the
Santa Maria, the principal ship used by
Christopher Columbus. There were also
different types of boats on display from
Venetian gondolas to a full size replica
of a Viking Ship.
Chicago World's Fair for kids - President Grover Cleveland Video
The article on the Chicago World's Fair provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Grover Cleveland video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 22nd and 24th President of the
United States whose presidencies spanned from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1889
and from March 4, 1893 - March 4,1897.
Chicago World's Fair
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Interesting Facts about Chicago World's Fair for kids and schools
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Summary of the Chicago World's Fair in US history
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The Chicago World's Fair, a major
event in US history
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Grover Cleveland history and the Chicago World's Fair
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Fast, fun facts on the Chicago World's Fair
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Grover Cleveland
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Grover Cleveland Presidency and
Chicago World's Fair for schools,
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