The Book of the Fair - Chapters 3-4



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Chapter the Third:
Evolution of the Columbian Exposition 

To several men belongs, and by several score has been claimed the credit 
of giving at least inchoative shape to the project for celebrating by an 
international exposition the fourth centennial anniversary of the landing 
of the great discoverer on New World shores. Among the former class is 
Carlos W. Zaremba, whose suggestions were made public about the time of 
the Centennial Fair. Another was George Mason, who in the autumn of 1885 
brought the subject before the Interstate Exposition Company, of Chicago, 
of which he was then a member; but nothing tangible resulted from their 
propositions. 

A stronger claim than either must be made in favor of Alexander D. 
Anderson, of Washington, who, in November, 1884 foreshadowed the project 
in an interview of which the results were published in the New York 
Herald. Through the local Board of Promotion, which laer became a national 
organization, and of which he was chosen secretary, he laid his plans 
before congress, secured a favorable report from the committee on foreign 
affairs, and aroused the interest of prominent statesmen, officials, and 
boards of trade throughout the United States, and of foreign ministers 
resident at Washington. By him were forestalled in miniature the main 
features of the Columbian Exposition, and partly at his suggestion was 
afterward inserted in the original bill, intended to give to the Fair the 
sanction of the national government, the clause providing for the naval 
review in New York harbor. That he was thoroughly in earnest appears from 
the fact that he expended on the inception of the enterprise a 
considerable portion of his private means. He was cordially supported by 
the citizens of Washington and Baltimore. Here, however, for several 
years, the matter rested, except that a general plan was formulated for 
the erection of suitable buildings at the national capital where, as was 
then supposed, the Exposition would be held. 

At length, after a long period of comparative inaction, the people and 
press of the United States were roused to the importance of the occasion, 
realizing that if an exposition was to be held at all, it must be on a 
larger and more comprehensive scale than any that had yet been attempted, 
one to which we would not be ashamed to invite all nations, nor have cause 
to fear that our exhibits would suffer by comparison with those of foreign 
lands. A further stimulus to the national pride was the success of the 
Paris Exposition of 1889, surpassing in splendor and completeness all 
other industrial and artistic displays, even throwing into the shade the 

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Centennial Exposition. Moreover, it was well known, the feeble 
representation made at Paris of our own productions in the mechanic and 
liberal arts, of our progress in the industries and inventions, wherein we 
had claimed for ourselves a foremost rank. There should be now no 
hesitation or delay. We must have such an exhibition as, fostered by the 
entire people and by the people's government, and aided without stint by 
all sections of the republic, would display to the world the most perfect 
of our mechanical appliances, our most finished works of art, and the 
choicest productions of our farms and factories and mines. If this could 
not be done, then we would have none at all.

In the summer of 1889, with a view to give tangible shape to the project, 
a committee was organized under the direction of DeWitt C. Cregier, mayor 
of Chicago, by whom several hundred of her prominent citizens were invited 
to meet in the council chamber. This they did on the 1st of August in that 
year, on which occasion resolutions were presented and adopted for the 
holding of a world's fair in Chicago in 1892, and an hour later were 
telegraphed all over the United States. Sub-committees were formed for 
various purposes, one to obtain subscriptions, another to prepare and 
distribute what may be termed the literature of the attempt, and a third 
to 

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attend to its interests in Washington. Meanwhile a number of states were 
canvassed, their citizens invited to public meetings, and with the result 
that many influential men were enlisted in the cause.

But for the coveted prize of location there were several competitors, New 
York, St. Louis, and Washington striving for the distinction, and putting 
forth claims for consideration as the most suitable spot. For a time it 
was thought that the place would be New York, where the sum of $5,000,000 
was raised by subscription as a guarantee fund, and a site selected 
adjacent to Central park. Meanwhile St. Louis and Chicago, both having 
secured the necessary funds, had entered yet more strenuously into the 
controversy, the three cities making free use of their influence in the 
state and national legislatures. Finally it was determined that 
representatives from the competing points should meet in Washington, and 
there discuss and agree on a general plan of procedure, with the result 
that final action was left in the hands of congress.

A most vigorous campaign was then inaugurated, the three other cities 
making common cause against Washington, whose claim was based on the fact 
that the proposed exposition was to be held under the auspices of the 
national government, and hence that the national capital was the most 
appropriate place. For several month the competition lasted, relieved by 
many humorous phases, with much good natured banter, and yet not without a 
tincture of acrimony. By each to the claimants every advantage was urged, 
and by each of their rivals every defect was exaggerated: Congressional 
committees accorded hearing to the several delegations, that of Chicago 
being represented, among other, by DeWitt C. Cregier, Thomas B. Bryan, and 
Edward T. Jeffery.

By the Chicago delegates were urged her position as a railroad centre, and 
the commercial centre of the west, commodious sites convenient to access, 
and ample hotel and other accommodations, with comfortable quarters for 
several hundred thousand visitors, without overcrowding. While conceding 
that such an exhibition might be held at good advantage in other cities, 
it was claimed that Chicago could command an equal array of talent for 
architectural and engineering purposes, while here was a better and larger 
choice for sites that at any of the other points proposed. That the people 
were in favor of this selection was shown by the fact that their 
subscriptions already amounted to $5,000,000, contributed by 25,000 
subscribers, not only in Chicago, but in every section of the republic, by 
men and women of every class and condition of life, from the millionaire 
to the wage-worker on farm or in factory. It was pointed out that Chicago 
was abreast, or very nearly so, of our centre of population and 
production, that while of the nine great states grouped around her, and 
for which she was mainly the receiving and distributing point, the area 
was only 13 per cent of that of the republic, the population was 35 per 
cent, the railroad mileage 37 per cent, and the grain crop more than 55 
per cent; that with these nine states there was no other group that would 
compare in all that is essential to material prosperity.

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By the street-car and railroad lines of Chicago there were conveyed in 
1889 nearly 200,000,000 passengers, or an average of nearly 550,000 a day. 
With increased equipments on existing tracks, it was estimated that, 
including facilities for water transportation, there could be 
accommodated, if need be, 160,000 passengers an hour. From Chicago to the 
Atlantic seaboard was a distance of some 900 miles; to the gulf of Mexico, 
and to the base of the Rocky mountains it was about an equal distance. The 
city was situated midway between these points, and convenient of access to 
them all. American visitors would probably outnumber foreign visitors by 
fifty to one, and the journey from New York to Chicago was no further than 
from Chicago to New York. As to commerce and traffic developed on Lake 
Michigan, there arrived and cleared at the port of Chicago in 1889 more 
than 22,000 vessels, with an aggregate registry of 8,900,000 tons, and 
this apart from several thousand canal boats. As to the means of reaching 
the place by water, the caravels of Columbus might sail from Spain across 
the Atlantic, and by river and canal find access to the great lakes. 

The struggle was finally decided in favor of Chicago; but after one of the 
closest contests ever witnessed in the halls of the national legislature, 
for the pride of the contending parties was fully aroused; but the story 
of this controversy has been many times related, and need not here be 
described in further detail. In the house of representatives a number of 
ballots were taken, and long the issue hung in the balance, the men of the 
Garden city remaining on the floor as long as the rules permitted, and 
then dispersing, some to telegraph offices, other to hotels, or wherever 
they could ascertain most readily the progress of events. Presently came 
news that Chicago was in the lead; but the issue fluctuated at almost 
every ballot, until at last only a single vote was wanting to decide the 
battle. Then the strain became intense, as was also the excitement in 
Chicago itself, whose citizens awaited the result of each successive 
ballot, telegraphed within two minutes after it was cast. At length came 
tidings of victory; the prize had fallen to the western metropolis; and 
with thankful hearts the delegation, nearly one hundred strong, set their 
faces toward home, where like a conquering host they were met by a vast 
procession of citizens, among them the society of the Sons of New York, 
with banners and placards representing every county of the empire state.

Thus after a severe contest, or rather series of contests, each of the 
rival cities bringing to bear all the influence at its command, Chicago 
secured the coveted distinction, and to her thorough organization, her 
earnest intent, and her superior generalship was this triumph due. Nor was 
there the loss of a single day in giving definite form 

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and shape to the project. At once the promoters incorporated under the 
laws of the state, and at the first meeting of the local board, Lyman J. 
Gage was chosen president, with Thomas B. Bryan as vice-president, the 
former succeeded at the following election by Wm. T. Baker, and with many 
changes in the directorate. In accordance with the act of incorporation 
stock was issued to the amount of $5,000,000, later considerably 
increased, and soon everything was in working order.

In May, 1890, the City council was urged in a message from its mayor to 
issue $5,000,000 in bonds as the citizens' contribution to the enterprise. 
This was cheerfully granted, and since under the existing law the council 
had exceeded the limit of its financial powers, a statute was passed by 
the legislature conferring the needed authority, the question being first 
submitted to the people as involving a change of constitution. A vigorous 
effort was then made to secure from the legislature a liberal 
appropriation, and this was also successful, though not without strenuous 
opposition, Illinois contributing the sum of $800,000, the largest of all 
the state donations.

Meanwhile, on the 25th of April, 1890, an act received the president's 
signature securing to Chicago the World's Columbian Exposition of "arts, 
industries, manufactures, and the products of the soil, mine, and sea." 
Though somewhat stringent in its conditions, the terms of the act were 

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accepted, not, however, without forebodings of evil from undue 
interference on the part of the National Commission.

By the provisions of the act this Commission was to consist of eight 
commissioners at large and two members from every state and territory in 
the republic, and was empowered to accept at its discretion such site as 
might be offered, together with plans and specifications of buildings, if 
deemed adequate for the purposes required, and provided satisfactory proof 
were furnished that subscriptions to the amount of $10,000,000 would be 
forthcoming in time for the prosecution and completion of the work. By the 
Commission, space was to be allotted to exhibitors, a classification of 
exhibits prepared, the plan and scope of the Exposition determined, judges 
and examiners appointed, premiums awarded, and all intercourse conducted 
with the exhibitors and representatives of foreign nations. Even the 
regulations of the local board of directors as to the rates for entrance 
and admission fees, and the rights and privileges of exhibitors and of the 
public, were subject to modification by a majority of the commissioners.

A Board of Lady Managers was appointed, to perform such duties as might be 
prescribed by the Commission, and with power to appoint one or more 
members of all such committees as were authorized to award prizes for 
exhibits produced entirely or in part by female labor.

The dedication services were to be held, with appropriate ceremonies, on 
the 12th, after postponed to the 21st of October, 1892; the Fair to be 
opened on the 1st of May, 1893, and closed not later than the 30th of 
October following.

As soon as the sum of $10,000,000 should be raised or subscribed by 
responsible parties, and provisions made for suitable grounds and 
buildings, the president was authorized to make proclamation of the same, 
to forward copies of his proclamation to the diplomatic representatives of 
foreign powers, and to invite foreign nations to participate in the 
Exposition.

A government exhibit was to be furnished, such as would illustrate its 
functions in time of peace and its resources in time of war, one tending 
to explain the nature of American institutions and their adaptation to the 
wants of the people. For this purpose a building was to be erected at a 
cost not exceeding $400,000, and a board appointed to arrange and take 
charge of the exhibit. For the erection and maintenance of such building, 
the cost of transportation, the care, custody, and safe return of articles 
belonging to its 

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exhibits, and other incidental expenses, the United States should become 
liable for a sum not exceeding in the aggregate $1,500,000.

On the 24th of December, 1890, all the conditions of the act having thus 
far been complied with, the president issued his proclamation, giving to 
the enterprise official recognition, and in the name of the government and 
the people of the United States, invited all the nations of the earth to 
take part in the commemoration of an even that would be prominent in human 
history and of lasting interest to mankind, by appointing representatives 
thereto, and sending such exhibits to the World's Columbian Exposition as 
should most fitly and fully illustrate their resources, their industries, 
and their progress in civilization. Thus was removed all possibility of 
doubt or failure; and in the nature of a Christmas gift came the 
president's missive to Chicago.

The world was not slow to avail itself of the invitation, and within 
little more than a twelvemonth no less than forty-four nations, with 
twenty-eight colonies and provinces, had signified their acceptance, their 
appropriations aggregating at the close of 1892 over $6,000,000. The 
amounts set apart for exhibits were by no means in proportion to their 
resources, Japan for instance contributing $630,000 and Brazil $600,000, 
while Great Britain was represented by a smaller contribution, exceeding 
only be a few thousand dollars that of her single colony of New South 
Wales. Meanwhile the states had been somewhat backward, the names of 
several being omitted from the list as late as September, 1892, though 
appearing later, either with public or private contributions, some being 
prohibited by constitutional restrictions from making actual 
appropriations. By Illinois $800,000 was subscribed; by California, $300,
000; by New York and Pennsylvania, each $300,000; by Massachusetts, 
Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and Washington, amounts varying from $100,
000 to $175,000; all the rest falling below $100,000, and several donating 
such insignificant sums as $25,000, $15,000 and even $10,000. The last of 
these donations were somewhat in contrast with those of the minor foreign 
powers, and even of the British colonies, one of which contributed 
individually nearly as much as the total accredited to all the New England 
states. By the principal foreign nations, and by nearly all the states, 
special buildings were erected as headquarters and for the accommodation 
of certain exhibits, the original appropriations of many of the 
participants being afterward largely increased.

To the department of Publicity and Promotion, the first one organized, and 
whose task, begun in 1890, assumed gigantic proportions, is largely due 
the popularity of the Chicago Fair, and the appropriation, by home and 
foreign participants, of a larger amount than was ever contributed for any 
previous exposition. Through the efforts of its able manager, Moses P. 
Handy, and of his corps of trained and energetic assistants, a favorable 
impression was created throughout the civilized world as to the utility 
and attractions of the coming display. Calling to his aid that most 
powerful of human agencies, the public press, not only in the United 
States but in foreign lands, he explained the character, scope, and plan 
of the Exposition, and why the time and place were especially appropriate 
for a great 

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international display. These articles were translated into all the 
principal European languages, and in response more than 2,000 newspapers 
and magazines not only forwarded copies regularly to the department, but 
devoted a liberal space in their columns to items and illustrations of the 
undertaking. Every week some 23,000 letters, circular, and pamphlets, were 
mailed to the various states and territories, with 14,000 to at least 
eighty foreign nations and colonies. Newspaper clippings were also made 
and distributed at the rate of many millions of words a day. By March, 
1893, the volume of correspondence and communication had assumed enormous 
proportions, the mail matter of from 50,000 to 60,000 pieces including 
more than 20,000 journals. In addition to the articles prepared for 
countless publications, electrotype impressions of the buildings and 
officials were scattered broadcast by the ton, together with information 
to intending visitors, such as would enable them to make their trip one of 
pleasure, comfort, and instruction. On this department also devolved the 
duty of preparing the official guides and catalogues, together with the 
collection of material for a government history of the Exposition, the 
latter a task of encyclopedic proportions.

It was not without many difficulties that matters were pushed forward to 
the point where ground could be broken, and the actual work begun of 
preparing for the great event. Foremost of all came the question of site, 
for which there were several competing locations, the supporters of each 
urging their claims with such persistence that for months the local board 
was overwhelmed with propositions. The first considered was the portion of 
the lake front between Madison street and Park row; but to prepare it for 
the required purposes would involve serious expense and delay. Moreover, 
should the Fair be held at that point, much inconvenience would be caused 
by the overcrowding of streets. Next was proposed Jackson Park; but this 
also would entail a heavy outlay for filling, and for the formation of 
lagoons. The northern part was already occupied as a public pleasure 
ground, and the remaining part was considered somewhat too remote from the 
business portion of the city. The third of the proffered sites was a 
section of Garfield park, with lands adjacent, much nearer to the business 
quarter; a fourth was a choice location of six hundred acres fronting on 
the lake, in the northern part of Lake View; a fifth was Washington park, 
a cultivated tract not far distant from the water front. All these were 
rejected, and for reasons that will elsewhere be state, the choice fell on 
Jackson park, for the use of the unimproved portion of which an ordinance 
was passed by the park commissioners, with the sanction of the state 
legislature.

No sooner was the site determined than the National Commission made its 
appearance, demanding certain changes and modifications to which the local 
directory was compelled to agree. Then came a dispute as to 

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jurisdiction, the directors insisting on the control, so far at least as 
home exhibits were concerned, since through their effort nearly all the 
funds had been secured, while the Commission claimed supremacy in 
accordance with the provisions of the congressional act, and also on the 
ground that recognition would not otherwise be accorded by foreign powers.

Had not the question threatened serious consequences, it would merely have 
been regarded as a ludicrous episode in the history of the Fair. The 
controversy originated in a disputed interpretation of the section in the 
act which provides that "the Commission shall generally have charge of all 
intercourse with the exhibitors and the representatives of foreign 
nations." By those who wished to curtail the powers of the Commission it 
was claimed that this clause restricted their authority to foreign 
exhibitors, leaving the local board in charge of all matters pertaining to 
domestic exhibits. If, it was urged, congress had intended to confer on 
the national body complete jurisdiction, then a comma would have been 
placed after the word "exhibitors," the remainder of the sentence being in 
the nature of an addendum, extending its control to foreign 
representatives. With such persistence was the contest waged as to 
threaten the vital interests of the Fair, and thus for a time did the fate 
of the World's Columbian Exposition depend upon a punctuation mark..

Finally matters were adjusted by joint committees selected from the two 
parties, at whose suggestion was created a Board of Reference and Control, 
consisting of the president, vice-chairman, and six other members of the 
National Commission, to form with a similar committee, chosen from the 
local directory, a committee of conference, to whom all matters in 
dispute, together with such as might afterward arise, should be referred, 
and from whose decision there should be no appeal. Thus harmony was for a 
time restored, soon, however, to be disturbed by a special congressional 
committee, appointed to investigate the management of the Exposition, and 
to submit a plan for future administration. Its report presented to the 
house in January, 1891, was adverse to the National Commission, declaring 
that many of the functions and powers assumed were outside the purposes of 
the act, recommending its virtual abolition, and stating that the control 
of affairs should rest with the local directory, by whose members the 
funds had been raised. But apart from the friction and antagonism which it 
aroused, together with the strictures of press and public, no harm was 
wrought by this report, and on its recommendations no further action was 
taken by congress.

When the National Commission was organized, the executive committee, 
consisting of thirty members, was found to be too unwieldy an organization 
for prompt and decisive action. Here was an additional reason for 
transferring its power to the Board of Reference and Control. Even the 
latter was found too cumbersome for practical purposes, with sessions held 
at long intervals, and other embarrassing difficulties arising from the 
want of a vigorous exectutive force, such as would solve without delay the 
ever-recurring problems calling for instant action. Hence it was 
determined to organize the management anew, in the shape of a smaller body 
that should hold continuous sessions, and whose jurisdiction should be 
absolute in all matters pertaining to the general administration of the 
Fair. Such action was indeed rendered necessary through the conflicting 
interests and prerogatives of the several parties in control, and through 
the near approach of the opening day, with a vast accumulation of business 
still remaining on hand.

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The new organization, styled the Council of Administration, consisted of 
four members, selected from both branches of the management, H. N. 
Higinbotham and Charles H. Schwab representing the directory, and George 
V. Massey and J. W. St Clair the National Commission. On Mr. Higinbotham, 
president of the local board, was also conferred the presidency of the 
council. While created nominally with absolute control, its proceedings 
were in a measure subject to the approval of the Board of Control. It was 
also assisted by the committees of finance and of ways and means, the 
former attending to such matters as its name implied, and the latter to 
affairs relating to privileges and concessions (1) from which revenues 
could be derived. One effect of this measure was to abolish most of the 
committees of the directory; another was a saving of expense; and the 
third that the affairs of the Exposition were for the first time conducted 
with harmony, simplicity, and dispatch.

While the director-general was empowered to treat with all exhibitors, 
there was also created for this purpose a Department of Foreign Affairs, 
with authority to open direct communication between the Exposition 
authorities and the representatives of foreign nations. The chiefs of 
other departments, by whom were granted allotment of space to American 
exhibitors, were likewise empowered to correspond directly with foreign 
commissioners, should their applications be referred to them by the 
director-general of the department of foreign affairs. Individual 
exhibitors would after the opening of the Fair receive their instructions 
from the chief in whose department their exhibits were made, and through 
him from the director-general. 

But as to the management of the Fair, a more detailed description will be 
given in another section of this work. Let us return for a moment to the 
proceedings of congress as to Exposition affairs, for in the welfare of 
that enterprise the national legislature manifested a fatherly interest, 
though as to the matter of appropriations appearing somewhat in the role 
of step-father. In February, 1892, a resolution was adopted by the house 
that, whereas further appropriations were asked, in addition to those 
already made, the "committee on appropriations is hereby ordered to 
inquire and report to the house whether those obligated and undertaking 
and now engaged to do so, have justly and properly complied with the 
requirements of the act of congress approved April 25, 1890, and whether 
all expenditures of whatever character for said Exposition have been 
judiciously made."

Whatever may have been their errors of administration, certain it is that 
"those obligated" did not fail to render a complete and itemized statement 
of all expenditures, from the outlay of millions on grounds and buildings 
to the wages of a temporary janitor, the cost of a door mat, and the price 
of a dozen cuspidores. By William T. Baker, president of the Board of 
Directors, it was stated that the total receipts from all sources, to the 
1st of March, 1892, were $5,106,181, with resources available from the 
balance of stock subscriptions and of the appropriations of the city of 
Chicago amounting to $5,713,051. The entire expenditure to that date was 
$3,860,935, and the indebtedness or liabilities under the various 
contract, $4,692,724. Nothing had been received in the way of loans or 
donations from private individuals; nor was there any incumbrance, direct 
or implied, on the property or receipts of the Exposition, which was free 
from debt, except for the amounts due to contractors as the work 
progressed. By the chief of construction it was estimated that, apart from 
outstanding contract, $7,726,760 would be required for 

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the completion of the work on buildings and grounds, and for the 
maintenance of departments and operating expenses until the opening of the 
Fair about $700,000, making a total outlay, including the expenses and 
liabilities already incurred, of nearly $17,000,000. As will presently 
appear, these estimates fell somewhat short of the actual expenditure; but 
with the single exception of the Paris Exposition of 1889, this was the 
case with all the great world's fairs.

In its report, dated the 20th of may, 1892, the committee made only a few 
suggestions as to superior management and economy. The chosen site it 
stated, was ample in extent, embracing more than double the area occupied 
by the Centennial Exposition. The landscape effects would be singularly 
beautiful; the blending of art with nature in excellent taste and perfect 
harmony, the interlacing of land and water forming a novel and attractive 
feature. The architectural display would present a striking and imposing 
aspect, the spacious verdure-clad grounds, dotted with shrubbery and with 
forest growth, would complete the elements of matchless panorama. The 
facilities for travel and transportation, both by land and water, would be 
equal to any demand that could be made upon them, and in a word, both as 
to design and execution, the Fair would be a worthy tribute to the 
ingenuity and enterprise of the wonderful city of the west. "In its scope 
and magnificence," the report concluded, "this Exposition stands alone. 
There is nothing like it in all history. It easily surpasses all kindred 
enterprises, and will amply illustrate the marvelous genius of the 
American people in the great domains of agriculture, commerce, 
manufactures, and invention, which constitute the foundation upon which 
rests the structure of our national glory and prosperity."

As the result of the investigation, instead of a loan of $5,000,000 
applied for by the management, congress voted half that sum as a gift, in 
the form of 5,000,000 souvenir coins with commemorative inscriptions, the 
remaining half to be realized, as was anticipated, from premiums on their 
sale. Even that amount was contributed with reluctance, after much 
discussion, and only it would seem, as an inducement to close the Fair on 
Sunday. To this condition, obnoxious as it was to a large portion of the 
community, injurious to the financial interests of the Exposition, and 
especially distasteful to the millions residing in Chicago and its 
neighborhood, who could attend the Fair on no other day, a strong 
opposition was made, but it was not until long after the opening that it 
was determined to close. The parsimony of the national legislature in its 
contributions to the Chicago Fair, and also to the Centennial Fair, for 
which a loan of $1,500,000 was the only appropriation, is somewhat in 
contrast with the policy of foreign governments, by nearly all of which 
their exhibitions of industry, science, and art have been liberally 
supported, and many of them entirely supported with the people's funds.

Six or seven miles from the business quarter of Chicago, on the southern 
verge of its park system, there lay a sandy waste of unredeemed and desert 
land, in its centre a marshy hollow, and without trace of vegetation, save 
for a stunted growth of oak, and here and there a tangled mass of willow, 
flag, and marsh grass, which served but to render its desolation still 
more desolate. On one side was the road-bed of a suburban railway, on 
another 

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a wall of solid masonry withstood the encroachments of an inland sea, and 
over the tract lay the bareness of a city's outskirts.

On the sand-hillocks of this plain, a few mule-teams and shovelmen were 
set at work grading in the spring of 1891; and thus was inaugurated the 
stupendous task of the World's Columbian Exposition. Here was the chosen 
site for the grandest achievement of artistic skill and mechanical 
ingenuity, the site of a group of buildings gigantic in plan and 
structure, a city of palaces arising from a network of gardens and 
pleasure gournds, all on a scale such as had never before been devised for 
such a purpose, such as few believed it possible to complete within so 
brief a period.

As to the speed with which the work was accomplished, a comparison may 
here be made with the Paris Exposition of 1889, up to that date the 
largest, most successful, and most rapidly constructed of any of the great 
world's fairs. From the time of President Grevy's proclamation about four 
and a half years, and from the day when ground was broken, nearly three 
years elapsed before that display was ready for the public. The time of 
President Harrison's proclamation was less than two and a half years, and 
the commencement of actual work less than two years before the formal 
opening of the Columbian Fair. In Paris, fourteen months were required for 
the erection of the Machinery hall, and nineteen for the Palace of Liberal 
Arts. In Chicago both these buildings could have been duplicated in less 
than half the time. In Paris the principal buildings covered a floor area 
of 75 acres, in Chicago more than 200 acres, while those of the latter far 
surpassed the Parisian structures in dimensions. Further comment is 
unnecessary; there are few who will care to dispute that the Garden city 
surpassed all other in rapidity of execution, as in immensity of design.

Before even the foundations could be laid of any of the Exposition 
buildings proper, a vast amount of expensive preliminary work was 
necessary, on account of the nature of the site and its distance from 
sources of supply. The marsh lands must be drained by the construction of 
artificial water-ways connecting with the lake, and utilized in adding to 
the landscape effect of the grounds adjacent. On this and on landscape 
gardening, with fountains and statuary, at least $750,000 were expended. 
For grading and filling purposes, 1,200,000 cubic yards of earth must be 
handled at a cost of nearly $500,000. For railroad track and rolling stock 
for the transportation of materials, another $500,000 was required; for 
viaducts, bridges, and piers, $200,000; for improvements on the lake 
front, $200,000; for water supply, and water, sewerage, and gas pipes, 
$600,000. Then there were buildings for construction purposes, with stores 
and boarding-houses for the accommodation of thousands of workmen; there 
were fire and police stations; there were quarters and offices for a corps 
of officials, with hundreds of minor details, all to be provided for 
before the real work on construction was begun.

It was not until the summer of 1891 that these preliminaries were 
accomplished, and the foundation laid of the Woman's building, the first 
to be taken in hand. Then was collected on the grounds an army of 
laborers, mechanics, architects, designers, artists, surveyors, and 
engineers, while elsewhere at widely distant points artificers by scores 
of thousands, representing every trade and 

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andicraft, were toiling together for a common end. During this summer, 
from 5,000 to 6,000 men were at work on the buildings and site; in the 
following summer from 7,000 to 8,000, and in September, 1892, when the 
principal structures were almost completed, there were nearly 3,000 
employees in the service of the Exposition company, and 8,000 in the 
employ of contractors, the total of the payrolls exceeding $600,000 a 
month.

There is perhaps no more impressive feature in the Columbian Exposition 
than the task of its accomplishment; and in the concentration of 
enterprise, skill, and intelligence whereby such an achievement was 
rendered possible, we have in itself and exhibition such as has never 
before been witnessed. The chief of construction was a man of rare 
executive ability, of strong personal magnetism, and one capable of 
inspiring in others a portion of his own enthusiasm. Through his efforts 
was gathered together a corps of able artificers and architects who, while 
acting in concert and coordination under his direction, were permitted to 
realize their own individual plans in all the fullness of their ambition. 
Some interrupted a lucrative practice to devote themselves to the work, 
living at their quarters within the walls of a great inclosure without 
relaxation or amusement, toiling from dawn till dusk, and often far into 
the night, heedless of self, and intent only on doing to the best of their 
ability whatsoever it was given them to do.

While the buildings were in process of construction one could almost 
realize the colossal proportions of this enterprise. Entering the grounds 
in the spring of 1892, the visitor beheld such a scene of bustling 
activity as that which at the founding of Carthage greeted the father of 
the Roman race when first he set foot on Punic shores. And yet it was a 
silent activity that pervaded this groups of mammoth structures, while 
pillars and walls and domes were rising around him. Here was an army of 
mechanics, with hammer and saw and mallet, all plying their tools with the 
vigor of a true American workman; but amid the wide spaces that separated 
these huge architectural efforts the noise was barely perceptible. Then 
there was an air of unreality about this congregation of edifices, so 
strange in dimensions and design, rising as from the touch of a fairy's 
wand at the bidding of some potent agency. On one hand might be seen the 
two sections of an immense iron arch meeting as silently as shadows 
flitting athwart the sky; on another a pillar of stucco, the height of a 
two-story house, being hoisted into air by a wire rope, and placed in 
position by a couple of men two hundred feet above ground.

In estimating the scope of the design, the observer would find himself at 
a loss for standards of measurement; for here the scale was so vast that 
there was nothing on which to base a comparison. In the Manufactures and 
Liberal Arts building, for instance, he would see the largest arched roof 
in the world, supported without columns, and covering an area of 540,000 
square feet. Beneath this monster arch a quarter of million people might 
be seated, and yet probably not one among them could think of anything 
that suggested to his mind an adequate idea of its dimensions. He might be 
told that in the roof over his head were 1,000 tons of iron and several 
hundred tons of glass; that the truss alone, with its purlines, weighed 
200 tons; but this would neither add to his comfort, nor aid him in the 
mental process of admeasurement. To compare it with other buildings, 
either in Europe or America was impossible, for there were none in 
existence; and to compare it with those on the grounds would be equally 
impossible, for adjacent structures, covering several acres of floor 
space, were dwarfed and dominated by this mammoth edifice.

Yet there are those who will say, that if for the housing of the world's 
exhibits such feats have been accomplished as were never before attempted 
or deemed worthy of attempting, it does not necessarily follow that a 
corresponding work has therefore been achieved in architectural design or 
artistic embellishment. Not least among the lessons of this magnificent 
display are the lessons it teaches in revealing to us our shortcomings. 
The work our people have done will be criticized by some of the most 
experienced savants and connoisseurs from every quarter, by those who will 
be sparing neither in praise nor censure. I shall not attempt to forecast 
their judgement, for all in good time we shall hear the verdict of mankind 
as to the manner in which the second of our great metropolitan cities has 
performed the stupendous task imposed on the nation's fealty to art and 
catholicity of tastes.

When Chicago was finally selected as the location of the Fair, there was 
general and by no means groundless apprehension that her conceptions would 
tend to hugeness rather than to harmony. For the most

Page 50

part the plans were drawn and the buildings constructed by local 
architects, and accustomed as they were to buildings ten or twenty stories 
in height, and in some instances to avenues from 200 to 300 feet wide, it 
is no wonder that their projects partook somewhat of the Brobdingnagian 
type. Said a prominent Chicago journal on the eve of dedication day, "The 
office architecture of Chicago is the key to the wonders of the Fair." Her 
office architecture is indeed remarkable, as are also her cloud-capped 
temples of commerce industry and art. Her citizens are proud of them, and 
with a not unworthy pride, for such things are well enough in their way. 
But, as the greatness of a city cannot be judged by height of buildings 
and breadth of boulevards, so in relation to the Fair, we should not 
attempt to measure architectural accomplishment by the rood or artistic 
exhibits by the yard.

I would not say that such has been the case in the great work accomplished 
by the artificers of the Fair, by whom so many difficulties have been 
overcome in structural methods and contrivances. Allowing for certain 
drawbacks the general results are excellent, so much so as to dispel even 
the prejudice of eastern connoisseurs, who have long since ceased to ask 
whether, in the line of art or architecture, any good thing could come 
from Chicago. If any of our foreign friends should wish for something 
different from this group of huge white buildings, with their endless 
array of stucco pillars, stucco ornaments, and stucco statuary, they must 
remember the conditions under which the task was undertaken; and 
considering those conditions there are few who will care to criticize too 
sharply the architectural features of this display. First of all it was 
necessary that the buildings should be of vast dimensions, for even with 
200 acres or more of floor room, every foot of exhibiting space was 
bespoken before the opening of the Exposition, and with applications for 
thrice the available room. Then they must be erected in a limited time, a 
time almost too limited for the thorough elaboration of artistic design. 
They were also temporary structures, and must be so erected that if not 
converted to other purposes their materials could be easily removed. 

All these conditions were accepted by the architects of the Fair, and 
except for the coordination of their plans with the general design which 
had been formulated by the chief of construction and approved by the local 
directory, they were permitted to go about their work without interference 
or restriction. Thus each one attempted to give to his edifice all the 
exterior decoration, the symmetry and harmony of detail that pertained to 
the exercise of art, leaving to exhibitors and to committees appointed for 
that purpose the task of interior decoration.

Of all the principal buildings erected for this Exposition, and also of 
those erected by individual states and by foreign participants, 
descriptions will be given in other sections of this work. In conclusion 
it may be said that whatever may be the popular verdict as to the artistic 
merits of the Columbian Exposition, there can be no difference in opinion 
as to the energy which Chicago has brought to bear on this the greatest of 
all her great achievements, and the earnestness, intelligence, and 
thoroughness with which it has been accomplished. Only through the 
exercise of these qualities, so common to American communities, and to 
none more so than to the denizens of our mid-continent metropolis, has 
been transformed a wilderness into a garden of palaces, filled with 
choicest productions of industry and art of which mankind is capable.

Notes

1. The term privileges relates to the sale of goods manufactured for the 
purpose of illustrating the process exhibited. Concessions refer to the 
disposal of goods and to special attractions from which the sole object is 
to secure a profit. 

World's Fair Miscellany - Some items of interest relative to, yet not 
strictly a part of the history or description of the Exposition, I shall 
give at the conclusion of the various sections of this work under the 
heading of World's Fair Miscellany.

Not least among the Columbian exhibits is the exhibition of human nature, 
and had room or hearing been granted to all the crotchets, whims, and 
hallucinations that here found opportunity for display, we should in truth 
had such a variety fair as has never yet appeared. By one of the 
applicants for space it was proposed to erect a tower 3,000 feet in 
height; by another a building with 400 stories; by a third to excavate a 
suite of apartments beneath the waters of Lake Michigan; by a fourth to 
hold bull-fights; by a fifth to establish a cock-pit. From England came 
one who sought to be placed on exhibition as the Messiah; from New England 
one to whom it was revealed that the site of the Fair was foreordained 
from the beginning of time. By a western man space was asked in which to 
illustrate to mankind the principles of perpetual motion; and by a 
mathematician to show how to square the circle. From a couple of New York 
vagrants came an offer to journey on foot to the Exposition grounds, and 
camping thereon, to exemplify and lecture on their mode of life. By the 
father of an infant prodigy the services of the latter were tendered to 
introduce at the dedication ceremonies the leading orator of the occasion. 
But the most remarkable application of all came from a vendor of 
cosmetics, who proposed to exhibit a wrinkled hag with one-half of her 
features made sleek and smooth by his treatment, and at the close of the 
Fair to varnish the remaining half in the presence of the assembled 
multitude.

Several of the subscriptions for exposition stock were from $50,000 to 
$100,000, and several hundreds from $10,000 to $25,000. The people of 
Chicago subscribed as they had never subscribed before, nearly all good 
and substantial citizens contributing according to their means, so that 
never perhaps in the history of the world was so large a subscription made 
so readily and promptly. The payment was guaranteed by Lyman J. Gage, who 
thus showed his faith in the responsibility of the subscribers. Under the 
charge of D. H. Lamberson, as superintendent of this department, were more 
than 200 committees, the members of which invited representatives of the 
various lines of trade to meet them in hotel parlors, where the financial 
problem was presented in a business-like shape, and discussed in all its 
phases. Then a thorough canvass was made of the city, outside of which 
very little aid was obtained.

That Chicago secured the location of the Fair was largely due to the fact 
that her citizens were thoroughly in earnest, that while the people of 
other cities were merely talking and too often bickering about it, those 
of the Lake city were acting. Long before New York had procured among her 
people one-third of the necessary amount, they had their money in hand, or 
guaranteed, as I have said; and, declared their senators in the senate 
chamber, "If necessary we will double it, and thus insure and Exposition 
of which the nation need not be ashamed."

In congress Chicago was supported by most of the western and northwestern 
states, and with many friends in the southern states. Excellent service 
was rendered by George R. Davis, the director-general, none knowing better 
how to gain the support of members and to inspire confidence and 
enthusiasm among his colleagues. "The fight is won," he said to the 
Chicago delegation, when first he met them in Washington; "all that is 
necessary is to let them see that we are thoroughly in earnest, and show 
them the courtesy of being on hand while they go through with the 
formality of handing over the prize to us."

Page 51

As to the selection of the site, it may here be further stated that it was 
first intended to erect the Exposition buildings around the lake front 
between Madison street and Park row. A portion of it was covered with 
water to an average depth of fourteen feet, and instead of filling it in, 
it was proposed to erect over it a flooring covered with a canopy form the 
edge of the lake to the government pier. Among the advocates of the 
Jackson park site was the Illinois Central railroad company, which 
contributed largely of its means. To Garfield park the main objection was 
its lack of transportation facilities, for it could only be reached by 
street cars. By Mr. Pullman, as president of the Palace Car company, a 
large sum was offered for the location of the Fair in the neighborhood of 
the town which owes to him its existence; but this was more than twelve 
miles from the business quarter of Chicago.

The practical work of the Fair began early in 1891, when architects were 
appointed, and submitted their plans; contracts were let, and work was 
commenced on the grounds. It was not until June that the buildings were 
begun and at the close of the year they were in various stages of 
advancement, from the flooring to the cornice line, the city of the Fair 
looking more like a thicket of scantling than the group of palaces which 
later it became. The Woman's building was the only one under roof; the 
brick walls of the Art palace were still unfinished, and the Manufactures 
building had not risen above its thirty and a half acres of floor. But day 
by day architects and workmen went on building, sculptors modeling, and 
decorators coloring, until at length these temples of industry began to 
assume their present shape.

By one who visited the grounds in the autumn of 1892 the aspect of affairs 
is thus described: "About ten thousand employees and workmen were 
scattered over Jackson park; yet at every unfinished building the work 
seemed to be in semi-suspense, or to have the air of an industrial 
festival. Deliberation was the order of the day, flavored, however, with 
eager interest and willingness. Also deliberation was a necessity in three-
fourths of the work, which required caution as well as judgment; for many 
were the aerial gymnasts perched from 60 to 260 feet in the air. Sky 
generalship of a high order was to be seem under the arching roof of 
Manufactures and Liberal Arts. Here, after months of patient lifting and 
fitting of unprecedented weights at great heights, each man had grown to 
know his duty intimately. From some lofty perch the foreman of a gang 
would conduct his men somewhat after the manner of the leader of an 
orchestra. Whenever he fell short of the mark, he would shout his general 
order to an assistant half way down, on the opposite side of the span, and 
the latter would give fuller instructions to another assistant on the 
floor. After each move all eyes would turn to the directing mind aloft. 
Under that roof feats were accomplished worthy to have called forth a wild 
surmise from the Egyptians who piled the pyramids."

In March, 1891, only a few of the states had made appropriations for the 
Fair, and France was the only foreign power that had decided to 
participate. That later all the states contributed, together with nearly a 
hundred foreign nations and colonies, was largely due, as I have said, to 
the excellent work accomplished by the Department of Publicity and 
Promotion, which resulted in the Exposition being known and discussed from 
one end of the earth to the other. In Europe an interest bordering on 
enthusiasm was aroused by the special commissions which made the tour of 
that continent, these envoys rendering most effective service in a field 
already prepared by judicious advertising.

The official catalogue of the Exposition is a volume of from 200 to 400 
pages, published in English, French, German, and Spanish, being given to 
each of the main divisions, and with others for special departments, 
making about fifteen in all. For this concession was paid $100,000 in 
cash, with ten per cent of the gross receipts up to $500,000, and twenty-
five per cent on all above that amount. For the preparation of the work 
nearly 1,000 employees were required, with 150 carloads of paper, 40 
cylinder presses, and two perfecting presses, the latter capable of 
printing 20,000 sheets an hour.

For the first souvenir coin struck from the die, a check for $10,000 was 
paid to the treasurer of the Fair by a typewriter firm. The coins were 
offered for sale at $1 each in almost every city, town, and village in the 
republic, bankers and merchants sending orders in advance for from 50 to 
25,000 of the first installment minted at Philadelphia. Four were reserved 
as prize coins, the one above mentioned, the four hundredth in order of 
mintage, as indicating the anniversary to be celebrated, number 1492, the 
date of Columbus' discovery, and number 1892, the date of the first issue 
of the souvenirs.



Page 52

Chapter the Fourth:
The Site, the Plan, and the Artificers 

In selecting the site of the Columbian Exposition there were several 
points to be considered. First of all it should, if possible, be on the 
shore of the lake, in a location not far distant from the business centre 
of Chicago, easy of access by land and water, and yet not intersected by 
streets or railroads; it must afford space, without crowding, for a group 
of edifices much larger in size and number than those of any former 
international exhibition, and it must contain as few improvements as 
possible, or better no improvements in the shape of buildings, so as to 
present no difficulty in the way of securing and preparing it for the 
purposes of the Fair. But the few vacant tracts on the outskirts of the 
city, such as fulfilled even a portion of these requirements, were of 
unsightly aspect, low, flat, marshy, and with no facilities for landscape 
or horticultural display. Only on the shore of Lake Michigan was there an 
element of the picturesque, and only at one point on that shore could the 
necessary conditions be obtained. This was in the section of the southern 
park system known as Jackson Park, an almost triangular piece of land 586 
acres in extent, stretching for a mile and a half along the shore of the 
lake, nearly seven miles southeastward from the business quarter of the 
city, and skirted on its western verge by the Illinois Central railroad. 
Connecting it with Washington Park is the Midway plaisance, a narrow strip 
of ground a mile in length and somewhat less than a furlong in width, 
lined with a border of shade trees and dotted with miniature lakes. Here 
are some of the minor features of the Exposition, presently to be 
described. 

As seen in its finished state, the Exposition site, with its winding walks 
and drives and waterways, its stately avenues, its floral designs, its 
statuary, fountains and ornamental bridges, all forming a scene of 
surpassing loveliness, owes little of its beauty to natural advantages, 
save for its outlook on the lake. When selected for the purpose, except 
for a few acres at its northern extremity, where a scanty covering of 
verdure was pushing its way across the unwilling soil, it was, as I have 
said, a mere patch of sand, cast up in successive ridges, by the waters of 
the lake, and almost untouched by the handiwork of man. There was nothing 
to form an 

Page 53

architectural background, nothing to lend variety of form and feature to 
the dull monotony of the landscape. On one side the smoke of a great city 
dimmed the horizon; on another it was lost in the desolation of 
loneliness. 

To convert this wilderness into a garden spot was the task undertaken by 
Frederick L. Olmsted and his late partner H. S. Codman, since deceased, 
both among the foremost of landscape designers. To the practiced eye of 
these experienced artists, the very disadvantages of the site, its 
bareness, barrenness, and desert-like aspect, suggested a plan that was at 
once unique and appropriate. Here the expanse of an inland sea, its 
horizon unbounded as that of ocean, and its surface studded with craft of 
various kinds, bedecked in holiday attire, would more than atone for the 
absence of park-like scenery, while, as will be presently explained, the 
water of the lake could be so utilized in the grounds as to add to the 
general effect. Moreover, with the aide of steam dredges and modern 
processes of grading, plateaus and terraces might be created for the 
larger buildings, partly with the material taken from the marsh lands, and 
the excavations thus produced could be converted into a system of canals 
and lagoons. 

Thus it was that Mr. Olmsted and his colleagues recommended as the best 
available site the ground of Jackson Park, which for a score of years had 
remained almost unimproved in the hands of the park commissioners. After 
prolonged negotiation and strong determined opposition from those whose 
interests lay in other directions, their consent was finally obtained, on 
condition that at the close of the Fair the tract should be returned in a 
condition suitable for further improvement as a public pleasure ground. In 
collaboration with the chiefs of the construction department, plans were 
then prepared and submitted for the preparation of the site, its 
subdivision, and its occupation by the many structures required. As 
related by one of the principal architects, "The leading motives of 
composition were to obtain such a disposition of the greater buildings as 
should make the best and most effective use of the natural conditions of 
the ground, when modified and corrected by the art of the landscape 
architect; should give to these buildings a proper and articulate relation 
one to the other, and also to the water-system of the park; should group 
them in a formal and artificial manner at those points where their great 
size and necessary mutual proximity invited a predominance of 
architectural magnificence, or picturesquely and incidentally, where the 
conditions of the landscape were such as to forbid a close observance of 
axial lines and vistas. But all these dispositions were made subordinate 
to the situation furnished by the wide expanse and horizon of the lake, so 
that the important element of composition should have its due value from 
the principal points of observation. 

Of all the difficulties that confronted the landscape artists, one of the 
greatest was to give to the grounds such horticultural embellishment as 
would form a tasteful setting for the terraces, statuary, fountains, 
waterways and other decorative features, giving to them all possible 
advantages of floral and arboreal vegetation. On or near the sites of 
former expositions was an abundance of trees and shrubbery available for 
such purposes, but here no such conditions prevailed, for winter lingers 
long on the prairie lands of Illinois, and in early Spring vegetable 
growth near the marge of the lake is retarded by the chill night winds 
that sweep over its surface. Hence it was decided to mask the few groups 
of stunted trees that lay scattered throughout the tract with such a 
covering of shrubbery as would hide their dwarfish proportions, and give 
to them the appearance of woodland foliage; also to plant the edges of the 
waterways with hardy aquatic plants, that would bear submergence, and near 
them a background of willows and bright flowering plants, with stretches 
of lawn as a further relief to the imposing structures of the great white 
city presently to be erected. 

Making the best use of such materials as were at hand, a landscape effect 
was thus devised, befitting the group of edifices whose broad dimensions 
would be brought into stronger contrast by their environment. The use of 
waterways was also suggested, imparting to the mise-en-scene somewhat of a 
Venitian aspect, and giving color to the architectural features of the 
display by creating what has been termed a water show in the very heart of 
the land show. Here was a novelty of design which has been applied to 
excellent purpose by the skilled artificers to whom the landscape 
gardening was intrusted. Winding their way through the grounds in graceful 
and symmetrical curves, a system of canals and miniature lakes was 
constructed, dividing a portion of the site into a group of islets, 
connected by ornamental bridges, and fringed with the flora of the 
lakeside water system. 

To accomplish this end, the water was first conducted from the northern 
inlet of the lake so as to encircle the wooded island, many acres in 
extent, lying opposite Horticultural building, and thence by means of a 
canal extended southward into the great basin in the centre of the avenue 
on which were grouped the principal structures. The bodies of water thus 
formed, together with other basins, lakelets and canals, were enclosed by 

Page 56

grounds arranged in the manner most appropriate to the places through 
which they passed, some in the shape of lawns and terraces, planted with 
flowers and shrubbery, others in the form of embankments of stone or 
brick, surmounted with balustrades, and with steps and landing in front of 
the entrances to the various buildings. The island itself was almost 
covered with foliage, and with thousands of transplanted trees, 
representing most of the varieties of timber found in the United States. 

Together with the land adjacent to Horticultural Hall and Midway 
plaisance, this island was assigned to the department of Horticulture, and 
became one of the most attractive portions of the grounds, a scene of 
restful, sylvan beauty, with shady groves of cool recess, and with myriads 
of floral and other contributions from our own and foreign lands. In the 
preparation of these grounds the entire surface was raised by several 
feet, covered with a rich black soil and with fertilizing substances, and 
so arranged as to conform as far as possible to the wishes of exhibitors 
without impairing the general effect. Meanwhile circulars were addressed 
to the superintendents of parks and owners of private conservatories in 
every land, and with most favorable results. So liberal indeed were the 
responses, both in the way of donations and loans, that contributors were 
requested to forward only a limited number of their choices and rarest 
specimens. From a single firm came the offer to expend $40,000 on a 
collection of orchids, including every species that would bloom during the 
term allotted to the Fair. From Great Britain and German came applications 
for more space than could be granted; from Holland and Belgium the promise 
of a magnificent display of bulbs, rhododendrons, and camellias, and from 
France a proposition - partially accepted - to decorate the entire area 
surrounding the Horticultural and Woman's buildings. With rare exceptions 
exhibits were promised by all other foreign countries, near and distant, 
Jamaica for instance contributing a large number of economic and 
ornamental plants, and Australia the giant tree-fern, the staghorn fern, 
and other antipodean curiosities. 

In the nursery grounds applications were made for four times the available 
space. Here is illustrated the growth of fruit trees, from the seed bed to 
the orchard in bearing, with a miniature vineyard, a citrus grove, peach 
garden, and a cranberry patch, the last explaining the latest methods of 
irrigating the plants. By many of the states and by several foreign 
countries exhibits were forwarded of various kinds of fruit, others, whose 
fruits were out of season at the opening, being represented by models in 
wax, presenting exact imitations as to color, size and form. 

The grounds are provided with seats and resting places, where visitors, 
when weary of gazing on the handiwork of man may find relief in viewing 
the broad expanse of the lake, now smooth and clear as crystal, now 
ruffled with squalls as sharp and sudden as ever the ocean indulged in. 
From the southern portion of the 

Page 57

grounds a pier was built far out into the lake, which serves not only as a 
landing place but as a promenade and breakwater, enclosing a harbor large 
enough for the accommodation of pleasure craft and for minor marine 
exhibits. Here was landed a large portion of the freight intended for the 
Fair, and by some this is preferred as a means of access to the grounds, 
with steamers passing to and fro at intervals, while from the shore end of 
the pier, and for two-thirds of its length, divided by a spacious 
waterway, the grand avenue of the Exposition extends westward toward the 
Administration building. By giving to its floor a slight upward slope, as 
it leads into the waters of the lake, the pier is so constructed as to 
afford an uninterrupted view of the entire avenue, with the imposing 
structures that flank it on either side, displaying at a single glance the 
architectural grandeur of the design. 

For those who prefer to travel by land there are branch lines from many of 
the railroads centring in Chicago to the main entrance to the grounds. 
There are also cable, electric, and horse-cars, capable of conveying to 
and from Jackson Park many thousands of passengers an hour. For such an 
Exposition, or rather Exposition city, with its magnificent distances, it 
was necessary that means of interior locomotion should be furnished, and 
for this most ample facilities were provided. All the cars land their 
passengers at convenient stations, where careful provision is made for the 
protection, comfort, and accommodation of visitors. An elevated railroad, 
run by electric power, passes through the grounds, stopping at convenient 
points, and a movable sidewalk carries around the pier those whose 
curiosity inclines them to use this novel method of conveyance. From the 
general railroad depot on the southwestern verge of the grounds we pass 
into a spacious avenue and between the facades of the main buildings, 
extending in unbroken perspective toward the lake. In front is the hall of 
Administration, beyond which the avenue takes the form of a great square 
or court, where thousands may gather or disperse without overcrowding or 
inconvenience. 

While many avail themselves of the elevated railway, a more favorite mode 
of travel is along the waterways, which are nearly three miles in length, 
and cover an area of sixty-one acres. Through a series of canals, basins, 
and miniature lakes, small craft of every description are in readiness to 
convey the visitor to all the principal points of attraction, affording a 
kaleidoscopic view of the architectural and floral display, the fountains 
and statuary, and the landscape effects, such as leaves on the mind an 
impression that will not be readily effaced. 

From the central basin, and the great square adjacent, flanked by the more 
imposing structures, whose well balanced outlines stand forth in bold 
relief against the sky, with holiday attire of flags and drapery, with 
floral designs and green parterres, and iridescent fountains, is presented 
one of the most striking pictures in the display. Still more remarkable is 
the effect when at night the court is encircled by a tracery of fire 
through a chain of electric lights, and with electric effect under the 
fountains and waterways, imparting to this wondrous spectacle a brilliance 
almost too dazzling for human eye to rest on. Yet there are many who would 
prefer that this central space should owe less of its attractiveness 
merely to ornamental features, and that it had been left alone without 
other setting than the majesty of the buildings which surround it. 

Alighting either at the pier, or at the railroad station, which face each 
other on opposite sides of the grounds, the visitor, passing along the 
grand avenue, finds himself, let us say, at the point where the canal and 
great basin intersect. It is perhaps from this point that he can most 
fully realize the grandeur of the architectural design and its harmony of 
detail. Approaching the shore end of the pier, he will see toward the 
right on a headland, from which he is separated by the southern inlet of 
the lake, a model of the convent of La Rabida, where Columbus tarried 
while maturing the plan of his expedition. Here are displayed among other 
exhibits, a number of Columbian relics, together with those of the early 
explorers of Spanish-America, collected from Spain, Italy, the West 
Indies, and other old and new world countries. South of the convent is 

Page 58

the Forestry building, a unique and tasteful structure of the rustic 
order, and near to this stands the Dairy building, where are displayed all 
the latest and more approved appliances for the manufacture of dairy 
products. Entering the grand avenue, the visitor will pass between two of 
the largest of the Exposition structures, having on his right the 
Manufactures and Liberal Arts building, and on his left the Agricultural 
building. Of these, as of other edifices, I shall give a detailed 
description elsewhere, presenting here only a general outline of the plan 
and of the relation to its several parts, together with a few passing 
features of general interest. 

As to the Manufactures building, the main structure of all, the first 
thing to attract attention is the immensity of its proportions, though 
relieved from monotony by its severely classical style of architecture, 
its rows of arches and fluted columns, and the elaborate ornamentation of 
its facades. Covering a surface of more than thirty acres, and with a 
floor space of more than forty acres, it extends for nearly one-third of a 
mile along the shore of Lake Michigan, another side fronting on the grand 
avenue, a third on the canal and artificial lagoon, while the fourth is 
separated by a narrow strip from the United States Government Building. A 
mile, less one hundred yards, in circumference, this gigantic structure 
occupies more than double the area on which stands the pyramid of Cheops, 
and more than six times the area on which was reared the national capital. 
Under its roof could be placed, with room to spare, the Vendome column or 
the London monument, and from the floor to the highest point of its 
central span is but a few feet less in altitude than the pillar on Bunker 
hill. 

From this colossal edifice the eye turns with a sense of relief to the 
Agricultural hall adjacent. Built in the style of the renaissance, and 
with statuary, typical of agricultural pursuits, grouped in its vestibule 
and around its entrances, this is one of the most tasteful of all the 
Exposition structures. Though covering a space of thirteen acres with its 
annex, it does not offend the taste by extravagence of proportion, and in 
contrast with the aggressive and dominating edifice which frowns upon it 
from the opposite side of the avenue, suggests rather beauty and 
chasteness of design. The annex is intended for the accommodation of all 
the machinery, and contains a large assembly hall for the use of 
agricultural associations. Southwest of the annex, and across the line of 
the elevated railroad, is the Stock pavilion, devoted to the purpose which 
its title indicates, and still further south are the stock-yards and 
sheds, with forty acres of covered and twenty of open space, where is held 
such a live stock exhibit as only Chicago can produce. 

Continuing on our way through the grand avenue, we come to the Machinery 
hall, near the southern line of the park, and separated by a waterway from 
the Agricultural building. Modeled after the style of the Spanish 
renaissance, its facades are richly adorned with colonnades and other 
architectural embellishments, adding greatly to the artistic effect of the 
central plaze. In its centre is a wide open space, in which is perhaps the 
largest collection of machinery in motion that has 

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ever been brought together. An interesting feature is the display of 
electric power, and the power station itself, whence currents are 
distributed, conveying not only motive force, but heat and light 
throughout the buildings, and connecting outside the grounds with the 
telegraph and telephone systems of the world. Only at this station is the 
use of steam permitted, motive force being elsewhere conveyed by 
electrical transmission, and to a minor extent by compressed air. Not only 
is machinery driven by electricity, but the railroad which runs through 
the park, the boats that ply on the lakes, the elevators, and even the 
fountains are operated by electric power. Including its annex the 
Machinery Hall is the second in size of the Exposition buildings, second 
that is, to the hall of Manufactures and Liberal Arts. 

Opposite the Machinery hall and in the centre of the grand plaza is the 
Administration building, a most tasteful and sightly edifice, perfectly 
appropriate to its location and environment, and except perhaps for the 
Art Palace, esteemed as the architectural gem of the Exposition. At the 
main entrance is a heroic statue of Columbus, and on either side of the 
several entrances are groups of emblematic sculpture. From its central 
rotunda rises in graceful lines a gilded dome to a height of 275 feet 
above the grounds, and resembling somewhat the dome of the Invalides, 
under which rest the remains of the great Napoleon. West of the building 
is the principal station for all the railroad and other transportation 
systems converging on the park, and, as I have said, the only station 
where cars entering the enclosure of the grounds are allowed to land 
passengers. Here are the headquarters of officials connected with the 
Fair, where all employees receive orders and make reports, and where 
visitors, agents and state and foreign commissioners transact their 
business. Here also provision is made for public comfort, including a 
commodious parlor for ladies, and in the rotunda seats are provided for 
several hundred persons. 

Nearly opposite the Administration building, and separated by the main 
canal from the hall of Manufactures, the Electrical building rears it 
somewhat fantastic front against the sky, it structural design tending 
rather to illustration and utility than to proportion or symmetry of 
outline. Its contents form one of the most interesting of all the 
exhibits. Here, for the first time in the history of the world, is 
exemplified in all its details the progress of this the youngest and most 
progressive of modern sciences, from its earliest inception to its present 
stage of development. In the electrical exhibits many foreign nations are 
represented, and to all foreign applicants space was allotted. Special 
efforts were also made by their several commissioners to form historical 
collections of all the apparatus used in electrical experiement, some of 
them long antedating the invention of Samuel Morse. From a list prepared 
by the chief of this department, the names of the more prominent 
electricians are inscribed on the friezes above the peristyle. In addition 
to its other purposes the building is used for the display, but not for 
the generation, of electricity. At night it is illuminated by 450 arc and 
10,000 incandescent lamps, the glare of which is subdued by the artistic 
blending of colors. 

Crossing a portion of the central plaza, we come to the last of the might 
structures by which it is surrounded, and that is the hall of Mines and 
Mining, a massive but elaborate edifice, built somewhat after the style of 
the later Italian renaissance, but with features of the French school in 
its general design. At various points are emblematic decorations, among 
them a group of figures above the principal entrance, typical of the 
industry to which the building is devoted, and a colossal female form in 
semi-recumbent posture, brandishing aloft the inevitable miner's pick. The 
exhibit includes large and valuable collections of ores, minerals, and 
mining products of every description, with machinery and illustrations of 
the various processes of mining and metallurgy, and of the application of 
minerals to artistic and industrial purposes. 

From the hall of Mines and Mining, leaving on the left the railway 
station, we pass to the Transportation building, from the lofty cupola of 
which may be seen to excellent advantage the general effect of buildings 
and grounds. Here, for the first time in the history of our great world's 
fairs, a special structure has been set apart for illustrating the 
progress of transportation in all its branches, whether on land, on water, 
or in air, apart from a hand-cart to a locomotive, and from an Indian 
canoe to the swiftest of modern clippers and ocean going steamers. A 
feature of the display is its illustration of historical development, with 
a collection of models and reproductions such as has never before been 
brought together. Passing through the main entrance, in the shape of an 
immense arch, overlaid with gold leaf, on which are depictured various 
methods of ancient and modern transportation, we enter the central avenue, 
on either side of which is a row of locomotives ranging in power from the 
lightest to the heaviest engine in use, and with their metal work so 
highly polished as to give 

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to the perspective a striking and novel aspect. Connected with the 
building is the largest annex on the grounds, for the accommodation of the 
more bulky exhibits. Of the entire floor space, covering with the annex 
about fourteen and a half acres, more than one-fourth has been allotted to 
foreign participants, and with applications for additional room which it 
was found impossible to afford. 

On the roof of the Manufactures building was erected the most powerful 
search-light in the world, the rays of which are visible at a distance of 
sixty miles, and bring into view, as distinctly as beneath the meridian 
sun, any portion of the Exposition grounds. It has a reflector seven and a 
half feet in diameter, with 25,000 candle power, and was constructed by 
the Nuremberg electrician, Schuckertt, whose marvelous display at the 
recent electrical exposition at Frankfort gained for him a world-wide 
fame. At an elevation of one hundred feet are two others a little smaller 
in size. With the rays of these several lights, projected in parallel, 
converging, or diverging rays, sheets of flame may be suspended in air, 
and the skies, the land, or the waters of the lake lit up for miles around 
Jackson Park. Add to this the search-lights on the Administration and 
other buildings, the 6,000 arc lights and the 100,000 incandescent lamps 
with which the place is illumined by night, and we have a spectacular 
display such as was never before presented to mortal gaze. 

A little further to the north is the Horticultural hall and greenhouses, 
forming a vast conservatory, and in its centre a spacious dome, beneath 
which is a collection of palms, tree-ferns, and bamboos. Here are 
displayed nearly all known varieties of plants, flowers, and seeds, 
artificial heat being applied to a tropical and sub-tropical species. A 
feature in this department is a cave lighted by electricity, and from 
which the light of day is excluded, for the purpose of demonstrating 
whether plants will grow and thrive under such conditions. 

Passing onward, still in a northerly direction, we come to the Woman's 
building, facing the lagoon and wooded island, around which are grouped 
most of the structures in the northern portion of the grounds. Designed by 
a female architect, its interior decorations and exhibits are also of 
female handiwork, and its control is entirely in the hands of the Board of 
Lady Managers. Though at all our great world's fairs there have been 
displays of women's art and industry on a gradually increasing scale, this 
is the first time that a special edifice has been devoted to that purpose, 
but with the principal exhibits distributed among the main department of 
the Exposition. Here also are several so-called roof-gardens and a well-
appointed cafe, the former covered with awnings, and used for social 
gatherings. Many of the departments have been decorated by state or 
foreign committees, the main parlor, for instance, by the ladies of 
Cincinnati, another room by those of California, a third by those of 
Kentucky, while the library owes its furniture and decoration to the state 
of New York. The colored women of the South are also represented by cotton 
exhibits, and Indian women by a contribution of richly woven Navajo 
blankets. 

Conspicuous for its location is the Illinois state building, between the 
Woman's building and the Art palace, located somewhat obtrusively in front 
of the latter, and the more so since it is the only state edifice to which 
a site has been allotted among the main structures of the Exposition. The 
intrusion is, however, pardonable, when we consider that Illinois assumes 
the first position as to scope and plan of collective exhibits. Moreover, 
the size of this edifice, covering as it does a space of three acres, 
would have given to it disproportion of outline if placed among the minor 
state and territorial buildings. 

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As to the Art palace, with its severely classical style of architecture 
modeled after the Ionic school, its purity of design and symmetry of 
proportion, there is but one opinion - that it is of itself one of the 
most artistic features in the Exposition. Exception may, however, be taken 
to its low, broad dome, surmounted by a colossal and long-winged figure of 
victory. Rectangular in plan, it is divided by a spacious nave and 
transept, lined with statuary and architectural casts, into four main 
galleries, allotted respectively to the exhibits of the United States, 
Great Britain, France, and Germany, with smaller apartments and annexes 
for other collections. With a mile of hanging space, sufficient room is 
left between the rows of pictures to avoid the appearance of overcrowding, 
which too often mars the effect of similar displays. It is worthy of note 
that the amount of space applied for by foreign nations was larger than at 
the Paris Exposition of 1889, the French as usual being strongly 
represented, and with a collection worthy of this nation of artists. 
Intended as a permanent structure, the building is of brick, glass and 
iron, without woodwork or other inflammable materials, and is considered 
externally fireproof, giving to exhibitors reasonable assurance as to the 
protection of their treasures from possible conflagration. The grounds in 
the immediate neighborhood are profusely decorated with groups of statuary 
and with imitations of Grecian art, among them the Choragic monument and 
the Cave of the Winds. 

On the opposite side of the northern basin, leading from the main lagoon, 
we come to the Fisheries building, with its marine and fresh-water 
aquaria, and angling exhibit in circular annexes connected by arcades at 
either end. With their clean-cut lines, their roofs of old Spanish tile, 
and their general simplicity and airiness of design, these buildings are 
in pleasing contrast with the more imposing edifices in their 
neighborhood, and yet not out of keeping with the general severity of 
plan. In the arrangement of the capitals, cornices, and other details, a 
certain fantastic humor is displayed, ichthyological shapes being used as 
the motif in the design. In the exhibits are found well nigh every form of 
life that finds a home in river, lake, or ocean, from goldfish, coral 
insects, and sea anemones to the hideous devilfish that Victor Hugo has 
described, with masses of moss-covered rock from which flow streams of 
water in never failing supply. 

Between the Fisheries building and the hall of Manufactures and Liberal 
Arts is the United States Government building modeled somewhat after the 
style of the National capitol at Washington, but of inferior design. First 
of all there is the orthodox government dome, rearing its head 150 feet 
above the ground, with a row of projecting windows, and a lantern 
resembling a miniature observatory perched on its summit. The structure is 
mainly of corrugated iron, not very chaste in pattern, nor especially 
attractive in color and outline. In the act of Congress creating the 
World's Columbian Commission the secretary of the treasury was instructed 
to dispose of this edifice at the close of the performance, giving 
preference to the city of Chicago; but of all the Exposition buildings 
this is probably the one her citizens would least care to retain for 
permanent use. 

In the construction of these, the unsubstantial fabrics of the Fair, 
nearly all of which must be removed or converted to other uses, one of the 
most difficult problems was the selection of suitable materials. For the 
framework of such huge, if temporary buildings, iron and wood must of 
course be largely used; but for the casings, the mural decorations, and 
other ornamental and accessory work, a substance must be found which would 
be at once inexpensive, plastic, and durable. All these qualities were 
united in a combination of plaster of Paris with jute or other fibre, 
resembling a stucco and commonly known as staff, one readily manufactures 
and handled, easily moulded and colored, and such as enabled the 
architects to complete their designs at small expense, while giving to 
their structures all the stability required. The group of edifices that 
form the housing of the Fair have been aptly termed a sketch in lines of 
iron and wash of plaster; for with this bright, soft 

Page 62

compound most of the mammoth skeletons were clothed and adorned, and with 
its aid have been reproduced some of the choicest designs in ancient and 
mediaeval architecture. 

After making the circuit of the grounds, except for the space allotted to 
the several states and foreign nations, there still remains one of the 
most interesting of exhibits, that of the United States naval department. 
In front of the Government pavilion, and apparently moored to the wharf on 
the northeastern shore of the park is a full-sized model of one of the 
coast line battle ships recently added to the American navy, 348 feet in 
length by 69 in width, and name the Illinois. Though built on piles, with 
its hull of brick and concrete, finished with cement, it appears to float 
on the water, and only after a close inspection can the visitor 
distinguish it from a genuine ironclad. On board are all the appliances of 
a man of war, with batteries of breech-loading rifled cannon, with Gatling 
and other rapid-firing guns, with torpedo tubes and nets and spars, and 
with all the equipments needed to give to it a thoroughly realistic 
appearance. During the term of the Fair the Illinois will be virtually in 
commission, with officers and seamen, marines, and mechanics, subject to 
the strictest of naval discipline, and with uniforms resembling those in 
use during the revolutionary war with Mexico. There are cabins, state-
rooms, and berths, with mess-rooms and mess-tables, as provided by navy 
regulations; there are daily drills and exercises at hours convenient to 
the public, while on the upper deck and the bridge above is displayed the 
method of handling guns and search-lights, and the appliances at the 
disposal of the commander when taking his ship into action. 

Scattered throughout the grounds are minor buildings and exhibits, among 
the more interesting of which are a workingman's home, a logger's camp, an 
Indian school, a heliographic exhibit, a lighthouse, a weather bureau, a 
life saving station, an angler's camp, a children's exhibit, a military 
hospital, a Japanese tea house, and an Esquimau village. 

West of the Woman's building is the Midway plaisance, where we come to a 
special department, including many interesting features, and forming what 
may be called a bazaar of all nations. Here is a street in Cairo, similar 
to the Rue de Caire at the Paris Exposition of 1889, but on a larger 
scale; there are panoramic and theatrical displays, cafes and refreshment 
booths, with scores of devices and appliances for comfort, instruction, 
and entertainment, from a model of St. Peter's to a Hungarian Orpheum. 
There are also Dahomey, Indian, Chinese, Turkish, German, and other 
villages, tenanted by living representatives of savage, civilized, and 
semi-civilized nations. Here is an immense captive balloon, an ice 
railway, a Moorish palace, Japanese bazaar, a Bohemian glass factory, an 
exhibition of Irish industries, especially that of lace making, and a 
circular railroad tower. 

North and west of the Art palace is the space allotted for the buildings 
and exhibits of the states and territories, nearly all of which are 
represented either officially or by private contributions. Most of them 
are on a modest scale, not more than an average of 75 by 100 feet, and 
some of them so fashioned as to represent historical or other features of 
local or national interest. The Pennsylvania building, for instance, with 
its allegorical groups and statues of Penn and Franklin, is of the 
colonial style of architecture, and here is reproduced the historic clock-
tower, with its liberty bell and huge dial clock as in the days of seventy-
six. In the Massachusetts 

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edifice is a reproduction of the Hancock house, of Boston fame, while 
Maryland gives us her state capital; Florida a model of old Fort Marion; 
North Carolina, the Tyron palace; California and Texas, old Spanish 
missions, treated in different styles of architecture; Iowa, a 
reproduction of the famous Sioux City corn palace; and Virginia, a 
facsimile of Washington's mansion at Mount Vernon. 

Southeast of the Art palace, and partially fronting the shore of the lake 
is the ground set apart for foreign participants, the best site being 
allotted to Great Britain, near the northern inlet. Of all the gratifying 
features of the Exposition, perhaps the most gratifying was the cordial 
cooperation of foreign powers, who, for the most part without prospect of 
material benefit, contributed, apart from the value of their exhibits, a 
larger amount than the total appropriations and subscriptions of all the 
states and territories of the American republic. Many of them, as I have 
said, have erected their own government buildings, and to others 
concessions were granted for the erection of theatres, restaurants, 
stores, and other structures in which to illustrate their several customs, 
usages, and modes of life. From nearly all the civilized nations came 
applications for space, while at no other of the world's great fairs have 
more than half of them been represented. Even Russia, which had hitherto 
taken no part in such exhibitions, applied for and was granted 100,000 
square feet of room, promising to send, among other exhibits, a collection 
of art treasures never before permitted to leave the realms of the czar. 

It may be said indeed that largely through the efforts of the management, 
an interest, ripening into enthusiasm, was created in this festival of art 
and industry throughout the world. Of this we have sufficient evidence in 
the general character of the exhibits, and in the applications for space 
by domestic and foreign exhibitors. So ably were affairs administered 
that, notwithstanding the vast area at the disposal of the managers, their 
difficulty was not to secure, but to accommodate participants. On the 
first of October, 1892, after allotments to a large number of applicants, 
there remained at their disposal somewhat less than 3,000,000 square feet. 
But at that date the applications from foreign countries alone were for 2,
500,000 feet, while state, municipal, and individual applicants from every 
portion of the United States asked for a total of 5, - 600,000 feet. Hence 
even at this early period, it became evident that there would not be room 
for much more than one-third of the profered exhibits. 

Page 64

Moreover, new applications were being received by every mail, and judging 
by the precedent of the Centennial Exposition, would continue to be 
received well into the summer months. Under these conditions the managers 
decided to follow the rule established at other international exhibitions, 
which was to divide the available space about equally between their own 
and foreign lands, though giving to the former a slightly larger 
proportion, in view of the area, population, and industrial development of 
the United States. Thus to foreign countries were assigned 1,300,000 
square feet, or a little more than half the space requested, and to home 
exhibits, 1,600,000 feet or less than one third of the space applied for, 
and probably less than one sixth of the space to be applied for. Offered 
as it has been an almost unlimited choice of materials for the great 
display, the management has been enabled to present to the world a 
collection such as in value, variety, and certain features of artistic 
excellence, has never been equaled. 

Of the magnificent proportions of the Fair there can be no better 
illustration than the mere fact that the space allotted to foreign 
exhibits is greater than the entire space occupied by most of the previous 
international expositions. But even this conveys only a feeble idea of the 
feat accomplished by the managers. We must also consider the special 
difficulties overcome in the preparation of the site, in converting that 
site into a garden spot, filled with landscape effects of most artistic 
design, in constructing all these mammoth edifices within a briefer period 
than is often required for the erection of a single business block, and in 
the coordination of the several plans under a system adapted to the needs 
of the time and place. That the work has been well done will not, I think, 
be disputed; nor can there be any question as to the zeal, intelligence, 
and patient toiled displayed in its execution. If here and there be 
evidence of lack of taste or judgment, the wonder is that among such a 
multitude of artificers there were not more serious shortcomings; nor 
should they be permitted to detract from the high standard of achievement 
realized by professional skill and enthusiasm. 

When first it became known that Chicago had assumed the task of presenting 
to the world the world's progress in arts, inventions, and industries, 
there were those who prophesied that she would be found unequal to the 
occasion. None doubted as to her resources immediately available, as to 
enterprise, adaptability, and skillful workmanship. But here was an 
exploit such as she had never before attempted, such as, except for 
Philadelphia, had never been elsewhere attempted, save by the most 
cultured and experienced of old-world communities. It was an exploit for 
which she had no special training or preparation, and what was more, it 
was thought to be one foreign to the genius of her citizens, whose motto 
"I will," applied according to the popular idea, only to material 
pursuits. By press and people the opinion was freely expressed that the 
work would have been better accomplished elsewhere, as at the national 
capital, under government control, or at New York, as the chief city alike 
of social, industrial, and commercial interests. 

While from Chicago much was expected, it was scarcely thought there would 
be as a whole an artistic and harmonious display. Some buildings and 
exhibits there might be superior to any that had been; but here was hardly 
expected the discrimination to judge aright as to the artistic merit, or 
the symmetry of structural design; nor was it probable that, among so many 
architects, such unity of plan and treatment could be secured as would 
impart to the general aspect an air of impressiveness. At best we could 
expect only pseudo-art, or even a subordination of art to utilitarian 
aptitude, relieved here and there by individual features of excellence. 
That such ideas were erroneous has long since been conceded. Through the 
efforts of certain practical business men, subscribing and securing 
subscriptions for the necessary funds, a corps of architects was brought 
together, for the most part unknown to each other, and accustomed to plan 
and execute independently each in his own field, willing however to sink 
personal pride, unite for a common purpose, and accept one from the other 
mutual criticism and advice, so as to produce in this city of the Fair a 
unique and homogenous spectacle, one where every design bears upon it the 
handwriting of the artificer, and where every building is adapted to its 
special use. 

To the chief of construction, Daniel H. Burnham, and his late associate, 
John W. Root, whose death early in its formative period was a serious 
drawback to the Exposition, was mainly due this excellent choice of 
professional assistance. Opposing from the first the plan of throwing open 
the contracts to general competition, the chief urged on an unwilling 
committee the selection of men of approved reputation and ability, and 
that with such firmness and persistence that the committee finally 
yielded. In a report to this committee dated December 6, 1890, and signed 
at his own solicitation by all its professional advisers, he stated 
briefly and tersely all the advantages and disadvantages of the several 
modes of selection; first, that of a single architect to whom should be 
intrusted the entire design; second, competition among the entire 
profession; third, 

Page 65

competition among a few; and fourth, direct selection. "Far better than 
any of the methods," he says, "appears to be the last. This is to appoint 
a certain number of architects, choosing each man for such work as would 
be must nearly parallel with his best achievements; these architects to 
meet in conference, and become masters of all the elements of the problems 
to be solved, and agree upon some general scheme of procedure; the 
preliminary studies resulting from this to be compared and freely 
discussed in a subsequent conference, and with the assistance of such 
suggestions as your advisers might make, to be brought into a harmonious 
whole. The honor conferred on those selected would create in their minds a 
disposition to place the artistic quality of their work in advance of the 
mere question of emolument, while the emulation begotten in a rivalry so 
dignified and friendly could not fail to be productive of a result which 
would stand before world as the best fruit of American civilization." 

Thus from Chicago, New York, Boston, and Kansas City, but mainly from the 
two first a staff of architects was chosen, whose work has, with rare 
exception, left no doubt as to the propriety of their selection. While 
receiving but a small proportion of their usual income, purely from love 
of art they devoted their time and talents to the enterprise with a zeal 
and enthusiasm worthy of themselves and of the trust which the nation 
imposed in them. As with the head of the construction department, so with 
the chiefs of sub-departments, all were men preeminently fitted for their 
task, fitted not only by training and experience, but by energy, skill, 
adaptability, and an almost phenomenal capacity for toil. 

Under the chieftainship of Mr. Burnham, with his knowledge of men and 
executive ability, each of his staff of colleagues, while contributing to 
the general harmony of form, was enabled largely to embody his own ideas. 
Nevertheless, to preserve a certain uniformity of design, and bring each 
structure as far as possible into architectural relation with its 
neighbor, nearly all the original plans were to a certain extent modified. 
It is through these changes of plan, more perhaps than by the plans 
themselves, that the structural entirety was relieved from any trance of 
monotony or commonplace. Probably never before were brought together so 
many artificers displaying such collective ability, and though gathered 
from distant cities, working in unison for a common purpose. Only through 
this combination of skill, intelligence, and devotion to the interests of 
the cause was rendered possible the now accomplished fact. On Charles B. 
Atwood, the artificer of the palace of Fine Arts, one of the foremost of 
New York's architects, was conferred the appointment of designer-in-chief. 
By Richard M. Hunt was conceived the unique and graceful design of the 
Administration building. Through the ingenuity of George B. Post the 
facades of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts building were relieved of 
monotony. By Charles F. McKim were planned the symmetrical proportions of 
the Agricultural hall; by Peabody and Stearns the stately structure of the 
Machinery hall; by S. S. Beman the massive hall of Mines and Mining; by 
Henry Van Brunt the striking if somewhat eccentric Electrical building; by 
Louis H. Sullivan the commodious Transportation building; by W. L. B. 
Jenney the spacious Horticultural hall; by Henry Ives Cobb the fanciful 
and ingenious Fisheries building; by W. J. Edbrooke and his predecessor, 
Mr. Windrim, the Government building; by F. W. Crogan the Naval exhibit; 
by Francis M. Whitehouse the group of buildings at the head of the pier, 
and by Miss Sophia C. Hayden, selected from a large number of competitors 
for beauty and harmony of design, was planned the Woman's building. 

To Mr. Burnham's lieutenant, E. R. Graham, with his energy and attention 
to detail, was largely due the efficiency of the construction department. 
At the weekly meeting over which he presided were discussed by the members 
of the staff all questions relating to structural design, and thus in the 
execution of the work was secured a general uniformity of plan which might 
else have suffered from too much freedom of style. Nor should we omit the 
name of Frederick Sargent, the engineer of the electrical and mechanical 
departments, with his adaptation of the more recent and approved 
appliances; nor those of Dion Geraldine, formerly the general 
superintendent, and of E. C. Shankland, the engineer of 

Page 66

construction, by whom were devised striking effects in wood and iron. All 
these and others, working together in accord as one executive body, have 
given to the city of the Fair its monumental and yet harmonious 
proportions. 

In the management of this enterprise Mr. Burnham and his associates have 
displayed an administrative faculty second only to their constructive and 
artistic ability; nor is it possible to speak too highly of the 
faithfulness and zeal with which they have discharged their manifold 
duties. Receiving his instructions from the board of directors, the chief 
gave to each member of the staff his own special orders, and these in turn 
to their subordinates, thus setting in motion the complex machinery by 
which the work was executed with the precision and system of a military 
parade. While in Mr. Burnham was vested the general supervision and 
control, many points were referred to special experts or to the weekly 
conclave, and especially such as related to the every recurring choice 
between the utilitarian and the artistic. Though the decisions of both 
were subject to the modification of the chief, there was seldom serious 
conflict of opinion, for everything was discussed and determined in a 
spirit of fairness and mutual toleration, every suggestion was considered, 
and every argument received a hearing. Thus were engendered a loyalty and 
devotion to the cause which spread from the chief to each member of his 
staff, and even to the army of mechanics and laborers, who needed no 
further stimulus to put forth their utmost endeavor. Here is one of the 
secrets of success in the structural development of the Exposition. 

Said a member of the Spanish legation, "The Chicago buildings are the 
buildings we should have seen in Paris, and those of the Paris exhibition 
are what we might have expected to find in Chicago." While the eulogy 
contained in this remark may savor of flattery, it is something more than 
flattery. If Chicago has not built better than she know, she has at least 
built better than other people knew, and notwithstanding the monumental 
style of architecture, a style rendered necessary by the vast proportions 
of the display, she has more than fulfilled the high standard of 
excellence conceived by her corps of artificers. As with the Paris, so 
with the Chicago Fair, one of the most attractive features was its 
conception as a whole, its uniformity of scheme, the arrangement of its 
buildings on a consistent yet diversified plan, one permitting such 
individual features of technique and expression as would relieve it from 
sameness, and from the coldness of a merely classical composition. 

In some points at least the Chicago display excels all others, as in the 
beauty of its site, bordered by the lake, and with its landscape gardening 
and waterways, forming a novel and artistic setting such as in few places 
were possible. Another feature is the profusion of ornamental and 
accessory work in sculpture, painting, and mural decoration, relieving 
what might otherwise be considered a too strict uniformity of design. But 
with all the luxury of ornamentation, none of these minor features were 
allowed to interfere with the general 

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harmony of effect. Nor were any of the buildings erected merely to gratify 
a vulgar curiosity, or to appeal to the popular love of the marvelous. 

"If," says one of the architects, in speaking of the buildings that 
surround the court, "each man had been permitted or encouraged to make his 
especial building an unrestricted exhibition of his archaeological 
knowledge or ingenuity of design, we should have had a curious, and in 
some respects perhaps an interesting and instructive polyglot or confusion 
of tongues, such as in the early scriptural times on the plains of Shinar 
was so detrimental to architectural success. The show might have contained 
some elements of the great American style; but as a whole it would have 
been a hazardous experiment, and it certainly would have perplexed the 
critics. In respect to the architecture of the great court, therefore, it 
seemed at least safer to proceed according to established formulas, and to 
let the special use and object of each building, and the personal equation 
of the architect employed on it, do what they properly could within these 
limits to secure variety and movement." To some it may appear inconsistent 
to display modern industry in temples whose style of architecture carries 
the mind back to the days of Augustus Caesar and of Pericles, to place, 
for instance, hydraulic presses in a building into which one passes 
between classic columns of an order devised more than a thousand years 
before printing was invented. But in other fields than this art has been 
made subordinate to the utilities. 

That Chicago has carried out her self-imposed task with a loyalty and 
faithfulness, and with a skill and taste that have won even the admiration 
of rival cities, is perhaps the greatest of all her achievements. Had she 
merely given us an exposition equal to our other world's fairs, one in 
which were adopted their more attractive features, with such improvements 
as might be suggested by her own artificers, even this would have been to 
her credit. But her plan was based on an original idea, and in execution 
was no less original than in conception. Not only was that plan of wider 
scope, but in the main of more skillful design than anything witnessed at 
other international expositions. From Americans it has gained at least the 
acknowledgment that American art exists, and that in striking and genuine 
form, a form distinctively our own, and worthy of more than the cold 
recognition accorded in certain quarters. From the world at large this 
rich and imposing display, prepared for the world's instruction and 
entertainment, has received a just and intelligent appreciation, has added 
to the respect with which our country is regarded among all other 
countries of the earth, and has revealed to them something of the 
qualities which have won for us a foremost rank among the great sisterhood 
of nations. 

World's Fair Miscellany

Among the many difficulties encountered by the Construction department was 
the intensely cold and stormy weather, accompanied with heavy snowfalls, 
which marked the winter preceding the opening of the Fair, one of the 
severest in the annals of Chicago. For weeks the buildings were capped 
with snow and ice, the melting of which caused a severe strain on the 
roofs, crushing in portions and causing slight interior damage. Even under 
this disadvantage work was continued as usual, and with such energy that 
by the close of January, 1893, not only the principal structures, but many 
of the state and foreign buildings were practically completed. So perfect 
was the attention to detail, that of nearly three hundred hydrants used on 
the grounds, not one was rendered useless by frost. Exhibits, however, 
both foreign and domestic, came forward but slowly, some vessels being ice-
bound, and other delayed by heavy gales. Thus the work of installation was 
retarded, and here was the only serious mischief caused by this bleak 
Chicago winter, though a winter less harsh than in some southern portions 
of the republic. 

On these, as on other Exposition matters, there were the usual 
exaggerations; for not only were several other cities jealous of Chicago, 
but the various sections of Chicago were jealous of the one to which fell 
the location of the site. A little before New Year occurred a thaw, which 
wrought most damage in the Manufactures building, and the effects of which 
are thus described by one writing of the Lake city: "Nothing could have 
withstood the tremendous power and weight of the snow. The corrugated 
sheeting of the gutter along the edge of the main roof curled up like 
paper, and was carried in great strips to the roof of the annex below. The 
wooden supports of the skylights were broken and twisted in a thousand 
shapes. Thousands of panes of glass were splintered. Great sections of the 
roof gave way, and fell to the floor below. An hour after the first 
disastrous accident another huge section of snow fell, crashing through 
the roof two or three hundred feet south of the first break, and leaving 
an opening fifty feet in length. So great was the concussion that a plate 
of glass, carried downward in the great mass of snow and splintered 
framework, was embedded in the floor and stood upright, as though placed 
on edge by a glazier." 

By other the damage was no less exaggerated, the cost of repairs for the 
roof of the Manufactures building along being variously estimated at from 
$25,000 to $100,000, while as a fact its original cost was little above 
the latter amount. Said one of the officials, "The injuries done to the 
Manufactures and Agricultural buildings and the Machinery palace will not 
exceed $5,000." By another the damaged area was stated at 32,000 square 
feet, which could be replaced for fourteen cents a foot, or $4,480 in all. 

About this time it began to be noised abroad that to complete the 
buildings and their repairs, and to install the exhibits by the 1st of 
May, would be a task beyond the powers of the managers. Said the Chicago 
correspondent of a leading San Francisco journal, writing from Jackson 
Park in February, 1893: "This seems to be an impossibility. To be sure, 
those in charge claim that they will be ready on time. Still the cold-
blooded fact stares one in the face that only the Woman's building is 
anywhere near completion inside and out." The writer did not seem to be 
aware that the Construction department had little to do with the interior 
of the Woman's or any other of the buildings, the decoration of which was 
left in the hands of the exhibitors. 

To afford some faint conception as to the proportions of the Fair, it may 
be stated that, in the construction of the main buildings there were used 
nearly 20,000 tons of iron and steel and 30,000 tons of staff, many 
thousand tons of glass, and about 70,000,000 feet of lumber. For 
installing the exhibits 25,000 men were required, and during the term of 
the Exposition it was estimated that, including those in state and foreign 
buildings, 70,000 employees would be needed. As the opening day grew 
night, 15,000 men were engaged in cleaning the grounds, in painting, and 
making repairs, all contractors being required to complete their work as 
far as possible before the 1st of May. 

To paint the buildings by the ordinary method was found to be an 
impossible task within the time allotted. A contrivance was therefore 
fashioned by Frank D. Millet, in charge of the Decoration department, 
whereby four men, working in unison, could accomplish the task of fifty. 
It consisted of a piece of gas-pipe so shaped at one end as to discharge a 
spray of paint, and from which a rubber hose connected with an air-pump 
driven by electric power. By the 

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pump paint was drawn from a barrel and scattered by force of air over the 
surface to be coated. 

The reasons for painting the buildings white, thus giving to the Fair its 
appellation of White city, Mr. Millet explains in an article contributed 
to an eastern magazine: "Every experiment," he says, "which has been made 
to produce aesthetic effects of texture, suggested by the usual treatment 
of plaster objects, has resulted in partial or in total failure, and every 
time the warm white of the staff has been meddled with its glory has 
departed. But the conditions imposed by the climate, by the impossibility 
of securing a homogeneous surface, and by the exposure and consequent 
discoloration of a certain portion of the work have made it necessary to 
apply some sort of paint to all the buildings. Ordinary white lead and oil 
have been found to give the best results, for the irregular absorption of 
the staff and the weathering rapidly produce and agreeable and not too 
monotonous effect, and the surface deteriorates less rapidly after this 
treatment." 

Available for water transportation there is a number of steamers with a 
carrying capacity of several thousand persons. By water the trip occupies 
three-quarters of an hour; by rail about half that time. Among the 
steamers is one of the so-called whale-back boats, the shape of whose hull 
avoids much of the pitching and rolling which adds not to the charm of 
lake or ocean travel. 

To New York company was awarded the privilege of running boats driven by 
electricity on the waterways with which the grounds are interlaced, the 
company paying therefor one-third of its gross receipts. The plan was at 
one time to place on these waters vessels of every known description, from 
a Chines junk to a Venetian gondola, manned by native attired in national 
costume, with Thames wherries rowed by Englishmen and canoes paddled by 
red men, with common row-boats, express and omnibus boats so called, 
making the trip around the waterways, and stopping at the landing steps of 
the principal buildings. There were also to be catamarans, such as are 
used on the waters of Hindostan, rudderless craft built of unhewn tree 
trunks, held together by coir ropes, the palia dhundi, equally rude and 
rough in construction, with matting or course cotton sail; the Aleutian 
bidarka, the Thlinkeet shell, and others from all nations, civilized, semi-
civilized, and savage. 

By a prominent physician excellent advice was offered to intending 
visitors, from which I extract the following: "Before going to Chicago, 
determine whether you are physically able to go, and can afford it. Take 
with you no one for whom you are responsible, without the approval of your 
physician. When you reach Chicago make it your first business to secure 
wholesome and comfortable lodgings. Avoid excessive fatigue. Eat 
regularly, lightly, and frequently of plain and wholesome food. Drink 
moderately and carefully, avoiding unknown and unaccustomed beverages." It 
is also recommended that those who have made no previous arrangements 
should avail themselves of established and reputable agencies, as of the 
bureau of Public Comfort, to be mentioned later, rejecting all interested 
advice or personal solicitation. A great exposition, with its endless 
succession of vivid