Chicago World's Fair Attracted Technology, Culture, and Religious Harmony - Part 1

Chicago may be known as the Second City, butEuropean and Classical principles of symmetry and
over a century ago it won the competition tobalance.
host the World's Fair in 1893. The festival was putThe grounds themselves covered 600 acres (2.4
on to commemorate the 400th anniversary ofsquare km). Over 200 buildings were constructed
Christopher Columbus' landing in America, and itto fill the grounds. Canals and lagoons were
featured expositions of technology anddredged to connect the separate portions of the
architecture from around the world. It has beenfair, and the streets were populated with people
said to one of the biggest signs of the arrival offrom 46 different countries and even more
the era of American Exceptionalism. No singlecultures.
public works project has been as important toCountless civic, professional, commercial leaders
Chicago until the construction of its Millennium Parkand personalities from around the world assisted
from 1998 to 2004.in the financing and management of the fair,
The Fair's dedication ceremonies took place onincluding Chicago shoe tycoon Charles Schwab.
October 21, 1892, but the grounds weren'tOver 27 million people visited the event during its
actually opened until March 1893, technically6 month run, a number equivalent to half the
missing the quadricentennial by a year. Danielpopulation of the United States at that time. Aside
Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted designed thefrom commemorating Columbus' landing, the fair
grounds. It was made to be a prototype of whatwas meant to show the world that Chicago had
Burnham and his colleagues believed to be goodrecovered from the devastating fire that
city planning. They took inspiration from thedestroyed the vast majority of the city two
Beaux Arts schools of design, which useddecades prior.