World Fair of 1893

The World's Fair was held in Chicago in 1893. It was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the New World. The fair was designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted. The event covered more than 600 acres and had 200 new buildings. The fair had a very unique effect on architecture, the arts, and Chicago's image. The fair had a huge influence on all the World's Fairs. Many of the ideas there have shaped modern America. Its legacy ranges from popular and high culture to changes in the nation's power.

" The fair was one of the most widely attended events of the nineteenth- century United States. More than 27 million people visited the 200 gaudy buildings erected at the sprawling fairgrounds south of downtown Chicago at a time when the total population was only 63 million. The fair's 65,00 exhibits presented a truimphant history of american innovation and promised a great future for the prosperous nation." book internet

"The World's Exposition, which was commemorarted the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage to america, was held from April to October in 1893. The monumental event welcomed twenty-eight million visitors, covered six hundred acres of land, boasted dozens of architectural wonders, and was home to some sixty-five thousand exhibits from all over the world." book internet

The World Fair's is a good example of the Gilded Age which characterized the industrial growth and class violence that started the era of reconstruction. When the World Fair opened only 28 years had passed since the end of the Civil War. The cost to enter the fair were and twenty-five cents for the kids and fifty cents for adults to enter. Though it was very expensive for most people, it was worth spending the money on it.

At the fair people enjoyed all kinds of fun. There were theaters, music, shopping and consessions to entertain the them. There was a circus with animals and the most important ride there was the first Ferris wheel that held over 2,000 people at a time. And still today it is used in modern fairs.