1893 World Fair

The World Fair in 1893 was held in Chicago. It was held in order to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the new world. The primary designer of the World Fair was Daniel Burnham and Fredrick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. The fair covered over 600 acres of land and featured over 200 buildings of classical architecture, canals and lagoons.

It hosted people of many cultures from all around the world. About half the U.S. population (27 million people), attended the World Fair during its six month run. Its large scale and grandeur set it apart from all other world fairs. It soon became the symbol of emerging American Exceptionalism.

The dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not actually opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30th 1893. The World Fair did not just celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery, but it also was held in Chicago to show the world that Chicago had risen after being destroyed in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire. October 21st 1893 was declared “Chicago Day” at the fair. On this day the record for outdoor event attendance was set, drawing 716,881 people to the fair.

On opening day the World Fair was a sight to see. It attracted so many people from all over the world. The fair was opened by President Grover Cleveland. About 129,000 people showed up on opening day. The prices to enter were fifty cents for adults and twenty-five cents for children. Though it was bit pricey at its time, people gladly paid the money to enter.

I think that the most important thing debuted at the fair was the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel was the most visited attraction at the fair. It was invented by George W. Ferris; he spent about $275,000 constructing this vast attraction. Over 1.5 million people rode the huge ferris wheel during its five months of operation. The ferris wheel help represent how the World Fair of 1893 was a grand example of the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was an era of reform and the fair represented this greatly.