1893 Expo Notable Exhibits

Notable Exhibits from the World's Columbian Exposition

In the Agriculture Building...

Featured booths of both foreign and domestic agricultural products, as well as an 8000 square foot experimental station operated by agricultural colleges. Galleries featured wool, apiary, working beehives (ouch!), dairy cows, brewing, and other items. Items of note included a 22,000 pound Canadian cheese and a 38 foot high, 30 thousand pound temple crafted completely from chocolate (YUM!).

Painters of the interior spaces were G. W. Maynard and H. T. Schladermundt, who painted Autumn, and Temple of Ceres. Sculpture included Diana by Augustus St. Gaudens, which stood 18 feet high. Also prominent were Philip Martiny's Signs of the Zodiac series and his Abundance and Ceres. The pediment was crafted by Larkin J. Mead.

In the Electricity Building...

Electrical exhibits were not only in the building, but also scattered around the site. Torpedo boats demonstrated naval use of electricity. Searchlights were employed as ornaments, especially for the electric fountain, described in greater detail in the sculpture section. Popular attractions included electric tools and appliances for industrial, commercial, and residential use. Other items included electrical surgical equipment, an electric chair (!), and a complete telephone system self-contained on the site. Also prominent were improved phonographs and Thomas Edison's kinetograph. Interesting items on display included an electric coat thief detector and an electric pickpocket detector, precursors to car alarms!! A display from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad featured a real underground electric train.

In the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building...

Anthropology Exhibit

Included in this exhibit was a series of outdoors exhibits that were supposed to "demonstrate" ordinary life of various cultures (note: this exhibit was not exactly politically correct by today's standards, but this is an accurate portrayal of the exhibit and its intent). Included were: Eskimos in skin tents, Cree and Chippewa in wigwams, Winnebagos (the tribe, not the vehicles!), Iroqouis in a long house, Navajo, Apache, and other tribes. The exhibit stated as its goal to "bring out by comparison with greater force the advances made during the past four centuries, as shown in the great buildings devoted to the material and educational interests of man. "

Bureau of Charities and Corrections

The intent of this exhibit was to "indicate by means of maps and charts the extent of provisions made for defective, dependent, and delinquent classes" and included a model alms-house and a model asylum. Exhibits of jail construction techniques from around the world were popular attractions, topped only by the displays of instruments of torture. The Tower of London torture devices were the greatest draw of the exhibit.

Other

The Chinese pavilion was the first international exhibit ever done by the Chinese Empire. The German pavilion was built in Munich and reassembled on site. The French pavilion featured many expensive Gobelin tapestries.

In the Transportation Building...

A prominent display was the 30 foot long model of the British warship Victory which cost $20,000. Another feature was a specially-built train of Pullman cars.

In the Fisheries Building...

Featured tanks that totaled 140,000 gallons, including 80,000 gallons for saltwater exhibits. The structure had its own pumping and distributing plant. Fresh water was pumped in from Lake Michigan and salt water was evaporated from the ocean, brought in by boat, and rehydrated on site.

In the Machinery Hall...

A working paper mill and printing press were on the site.

In the Fine Arts Building...

Featured the most comprehensive exhibit of modern art ever to be exhibited to that time. There were 10,040 works displayed in the building. Winslow Homer's painting A Great Gale got a gold medal, an event which marked the beginning of his recognition as a great artist. A glass mosaic chapel created by Louis C. Tiffany was a popular exhibit. The exposition also marked America's first exposure to the art and architecture of Japan, Russia, and China. The architecture of Japan at the fair made a strong impression on young Chicagoan Frank Lloyd Wright.

Bruce R. Schulman

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