Chicago World's Columbian Exposition Essay
World’s Columbian Exposition In 1893 the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, took place in Chicago, Illinois. The fair was in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. The Columbian Exposition was four times larger than the previous world’s fair, and over the six months that it was open, 27 million people visited the fair. That was almost half of the US population at that time. The White City, named because most of the buildings were painted white and gleamed with electric lights, the Chicago World’s Fair was home to the first and largest Ferris wheel ever built. With over 200 buildings on the 60-acre land, 43 states and 47 countries represented, and
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They served as decorative reflecting pools and waterways for transportation. Guests could travel through the fair on small boats. The Wooded Island also provided a shady space for tired visitors to relax and escape the bustle of the busy Midway. To accomplish this, he dredged the marsh and deepened the lagoon. Olmsted also created terraces and pedestrian walkways throughout that all led to a central area around the lagoon. For the Wooded Island, he reshaped a sandy peninsula into a 16-acre island. He kept the native oak trees and added hemlock trees, shrubs, and aquatic plants around the edges. Teddy Roosevelt wanted to set up his Boone and Crockett Hunting Club on the island but Olmsted said no to him and other exhibitors at the fair. He did not want anything to take away from the natural look of the landscape. Olmsted did allow one building to be built, a Japanese temple, because he did not think it would interfere with the natural appearance of the island. After the fair ended, the site was changed back to regular park land. Jackson Park is still there today, along with the Wooded Island. The Chicago World’s Fair was one of Frederick Law Olmsted’s last major projects and one of the finest examples of his ability to blend naturalistic landscapes with large
They served as decorative reflecting pools and waterways for transportation. Guests could travel through the fair on small boats. The Wooded Island also provided a shady space for tired visitors to relax and escape the bustle of the busy Midway. To accomplish this, he dredged the marsh and deepened the lagoon. Olmsted also created terraces and pedestrian walkways throughout that all led to a central area around the lagoon. For the Wooded Island, he reshaped a sandy peninsula into a 16-acre island. He kept the native oak trees and added hemlock trees, shrubs, and aquatic plants around the edges. Teddy Roosevelt wanted to set up his Boone and Crockett Hunting Club on the island but Olmsted said no to him and other exhibitors at the fair. He did not want anything to take away from the natural look of the landscape. Olmsted did allow one building to be built, a Japanese temple, because he did not think it would interfere with the natural appearance of the island. After the fair ended, the site was changed back to regular park land. Jackson Park is still there today, along with the Wooded Island. The Chicago World’s Fair was one of Frederick Law Olmsted’s last major projects and one of the finest examples of his ability to blend naturalistic landscapes with large