Architectural Profiles

Structures Profiled

• • Manufactures & Liberal Arts Building

  • Transportation Building

  • Agriculture Building

  • Fine Arts Building

  • Administration Building

  • Machinery Hall

• Other Significant Buildings

Manufactures & Liberal Arts Building

The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building was, in 1893, the largest roofed structure ever built. The total dimensions of the structure were 1687 feet long and 787 feet wide and covered 44 acres. The central transept spanned 375 feet. The main structure was surrounded on all sides by 200 foot long galleries. Inside, 86 smaller galleries with exhibits were to be found lining the central corridor "Columbia Avenue", a wide walkway with a 120 foot clock tower a the center with a 40 foot base. The exterior was in the Corinthian order and had four entrances, styled as triumphal arches. The central entry was 40 feet wide and 80 feet high. . The large sculpture of an eagle at the entrance was made by Karl Bitter.

The building cost $1,837,601 and required 3 million feet of lumber and 5 rail car loads of nails. The structure required 12 million pounds of steel. More than 30,000 panes of glass were required for the windows and 50 tons of paint was needed to paint the entire structure.

Transportation Building

The Transportation Building was 960 feet long and 256 feet wide, with a central cupola 165 feet high. The structure was designed by Louis Sullivan and was best known for its Golden Door . The door was a large entryway that was a series of receding arches, highly decorated, and overlaid with gold leaf. The decoration was done by sculptor John J. Boyle. In contrast to the White City, the Transportation Building was polychromatically painted, with reds, oranges, and yellows predominating. The building cost $370,000.

Agriculture Building

The Agriculture Building was 500 feet by 800 feet, with a 300 foot by 500 foot annex. The main entrance was 64 feet wide and led to a rotunda with a diameter of 100 feet with a 130 foot glass dome. There were 4 corner pavilions on the main building, each 144 feet by 144 feet, and each with a 96 foot dome. The building cost $563,840. The large murals inside were painted by George W. Maynard.

Fine Arts Building

The main building is 320 feet by 500 feet and had two annexes, each 120 feet by 200 feet. It features a 100 foot transept that is 70 feet high. It has a dome 60 feet in diameter and 125 feet high. The dome was surmounted by a statue of Winged Victory. The structure cost $670,000 and is the only one of the buildings that was designed to be permanent.

Administration Building

The $493,901 Administration Building was the centerpiece of the exposition and at the head of the Court of Honor, center of The White City. The French Renaissance style building was in the form of four pavilions, 84 feet square, connected by a central dome 120 feet in diameter and 250 feet high. The center of each facade had a 32 foot recess for entryways, which were each 50 feet wide and 50 feet high. The first story was of the Doric order and surmounted by a balustrade. The dome was octagonal, gilded, and was ribbed and paneled. It had arches and a 27 foot wide frieze and had a 50 foot opening at the top to allow light in. The sculpture was by Karl Bitter of New York and featured, among other pieces, allegories of commerce, industry, justice, religion, war, peace, science, and art. In front of the structure was a 14 foot high statue of Christopher Columbus bearing the upraised standard of Castile and Aragon in his right hand. The statue was begun by Louis St. Gaudens and completed by Mary Lawrence. It featured a giant mural by W. L. Dodge titled The Glorification of the Arts and Sciences.

Machinery Hall

The main building was 846 feet long and 492 feet wide, with a 490 feet by 500 feet. The power house, which was a functional structure and an exhibit, was 100 feet by 1000 feet. The pumping house, for water, was 77 feet by 84 feet. The machine shop was 25 feet by 96 feet. The main building was spanned by 3 large trusses and cost $893,090. The entire complex cost $1,285,000. The buildings were designed in the Spanish Renaissance style.

A view of inside Machinery Hall...

Other Important Buildings

Mines and Mining Building

The building was 700 feet by 350 feet and cost $256,447. It was styled in the early Italian Renaissance style, with the typical influences of French architecture common in the late 19th century (the Second Empire style). Featured an allegory over the main doorway of mining by Richard Bock.

Anthropological Building

The 415 foot by 255 foot structure featured galleries for physical anthropology, a library, a museum, ethnology, archaeology, and small galleries for individual states and nations.

Horticultural Building

The building was, in essence, a large greenhouse. It was 998 feet long and 250 feet wide. It had 8 conservatories that were each 24 feet by 100 feet and a central dome that was 187 feet in diameter and 113 feet high. It cost $350,000 to build.

A large majority of the plants were sold after the show to the new Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. The plants were sent to Pittsburgh by train and then transported by horse and wagon from the rail yard to the newly completed structure.

Forestry Building

The rustic style building was quite different than the White City. Its columns were made from whole tree trunks and it was surrounded by a veranda on all four sides. The 528 foot by 208 foot structure cost about $100,000 to construct.

Electricity Building

The 345 foot by 690 foot facility covered 5.5 acres and was designed in the French Renaissance style and cost $432,675 to build. Its fine pediment was created by sculptor Hermon A. MacNeil. Its nave was 115 feet wide and 114 feet high and was crossed by a transept of the same dimensions. At each corner was a pavilion with a tower 169 feet high. The most noted sculpture was a 16 foot high statue of Benjamin Franklin by Carl Rohl-Smith.

Fisheries Building

The main building was 365 feet by 165 feet and was complemented by two polygonal buildings 133 feet 6 inches in diameter connected to it by curved arcades. The two entrances to the main building were 102 feet long and projected 41 feet, and were flanked by circular towers. The first story of the main building was surmounted by a circular story that was capped with a conical roof and a turret on top. Four smaller towers projected from the base.

United States Building

The U.S. government building was 345 feet by 415 feet.

Woman's Building

The structure was 199 feet by 382 feet and cost $140,168. It was the only design that was open to competition and was designed in the Italian Renaissance style and had an open 70 foot by 65 foot rotunda. The sculpture was created by Mrs. Alice Rideout and murals were painted by Mary Cassatt.

Illinois Building

The $250,000 structure was well placed on the site but poorly regarded. It had a large dome and no exterior sculpture. Designed by Boyington & Co. of Chicago, the building was generally considered "too much" and Louis Sullivan, designer of the Transportation Building, called it a "lewd exhibit of drooling imbecility".

California Building

Designed by A. Page Brown of San Francisco, the 144 foot by 435 foot building was classical only on the south portal. The balance of the structure was in the Mission style. The staff used in the construction was especially well-suited to the task of resembling adobe.

New York Building

The 214 foot by 142 foot structure built by the government of New York state featured a popular and picturesque rooftop garden.

Bruce R. Schulman

1893 Exposition Main Page