The World's Columbian Exposition: The Chicago World's Fair of 1893

By Christine Laing and Norman Bolotin

Book Overview

This exceptional chronicle takes readers on a visual tour of the glittering "white city" that emerged along the swampy south shore of Lake Michigan as a symbol of Chicago's rebirth and pride twenty-two years after the Great Fire.

The World's Columbian Exposition, which commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage to America, was held from April to October in 1893. The monumental event welcomed twenty-eight million visitors, covered six hundred acres of land, boasted dozens of architectural wonders, and was home to some sixty-five thousand exhibits from all over the world. From far and wide, people came to experience the splendors of the fair, to witness the magic sparkle of electric lights or ride the world's first Ferris wheel, known as the Eiffel Tower of Chicago.

Norman Bolotin and Christine Laing have assembled a dazzling photographic history of the fair. Here are panoramic views of the concourse--replete with waterways and gondolas, the amazing moving sidewalk, masterful landscaping and horticultural splendors--and reproductions of ads, flyers, souvenirs, and keepsakes. Here too are the grand structures erected solely for the fair, from the golden doorway of the Transportation Building to the aquariums and ponds of the Fisheries Building, as well as details such as menu prices, the cost to rent a Kodak camera, and injury and arrest reports from the Columbian Guard.

This unique volume tells the story of the World's Columbian Exposition from its conception and construction to the scientific, architectural, and cultural legacies it left behind, inviting readers to imagine what it would have been like to spend a week at the fair.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 025207081X
• ISBN13: 9780252070815
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.4" x 10.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The White City revisited

I purchased this book after watching a two hour PBS special on the Columbian Exposition. My imagination was captured, and I wanted more. I purchased the excellent The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson (which I also recommend) and this book at the same time. They compliment one another quite well. I believe I enjoyed both more by pairing them than I would have enjoyed them individually. The photos contained in this book are astounding. Even living near Chicago, and having been to the location of the Midway Plaisance and having seen the few architectural remnants of the fair (most notably the Science and Industry Museum), it is hard to imagine the scale and overall aesthetic of so many Greco-Roman buildings in one place. The book was very useful for making the fair come alive in my imagination, and for giving a general sense of scale. As an aside, if you ever visit Chicago, take the time to visit the location of the fair. You can take a walking tour of the area, and begin to create your own internal map of where the buildings stood. Finish up at the Museum of Science and Industry (which remarkably doesn't have an exhibit on the fair, one of the most important events in Chicago's history!) You will not be disappointed.

great book!!!!!

this book is great and gives wonderful information and facts....worth the money and is a great buy.

Chicago Colombian Exposition

A thorough history, interestingly written and beautifully illustrated. A good follow-up to "Devil in the White City".