Step Forward: The 1893 Chicago World's Fair

In 1893, the city of Chicago hosted the "World's Fair" as a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the "Columbian Exploration". Designed, envisioned, and executed by Daniel Burnham, the create of the "Beaux-Arts" style of architecture, the exposition was a monumental success.

Daniel Burnham (third from the left) and his fellow architects in 1893.

In attendance was __________ who would take some of the ideas of Burham's and apply them to his home city of Denver. In an effort to understand the "City Beautiful" movement championed by Burnham and others, let's explore the Chicago World's Fair.

PART 1 - THE 'WINDY CITY' OF FILTHY CHICAGO

In the late 1880s, Chicago, like many other Western cities, was disgustingly dirty. It was described in the following quote:

Chicago got bigger, taller, and richer; but also grew dirtier, darker, and more dangerous. A miasma of cinder-flecked smoke blackened the streets and at times reduced visibility to the distance of a single block, especially in winter, when coal furnaces were in full roar. The ceaseless passage of trains, grip-cars, trolleys, carriages – surreys, landaus, victorias, broughams, phaetons, and hearses, all with iron-clad wheels that struck the pavement like rolling hammers – produced a constant thunder that did not recede until after midnight and made the open-window nights of summer unbearable. In poor neighborhoods garbage mounted in alleys and overflowed giant trashboxes that became banquet halls for rats and bluebottle flies. Billions of flies. The corpses of dogs, cats, and horses often remained where they fell. In January they froze in disheartening poses; in August they ballooned and ruptured. Many ended up in the Chicago River, the city’s main commercial artery. During heavy rains, river water flowed in a greasy plume far out into Lake Michigan, to the towers that marked the intake pipes for the city’s drinking water. In rain any street not paved with macadam oozed a fragrant muck of horse manure, mud, and garbage that swelled between granite blacks like pus from a wound. Chicago awed visitors and terrified them. French editor Octave Uzanne called it “that Gordian city, so excessive, so satanic.” Paul Lindau, an author and publisher described it as “a gigantic peepshow of utter horror, but extraordinarily to the point.”

Burnham had the task of attracting visitors to the disgusting "windy city" (named NOT for the winds, but for the "constant talk and arrogance" of Chicagoans). His plan for the City Beautiful included a "model city" of human achievement. It was noted that "the Fair led our people out of the wilderness of the commonplace to the new ideas of architectural beauty and nobility".

Examine the map of the World's Fair below or click here to see a larger picture:

To a "savage" Western-dweller, what parts of his "city" are "beautiful"? In other words, what are important things a "city beautiful" must have?

Let's examine one of the most important features, the "Wooded Island".

The bottom picture shows the island today, still very much in use. According to Burnham, the Fair was to have "an aura of mysterious poetic effect." What is the point of constructing and island for travelers to visit? Secondly, what kinds of thing(s) do you think were on that island?

Fun fact: Indians were to be on the island! They were supposed to be like the "first natives" that Columbus encountered, and according to the story, were supposed "peer cautiously at [visitors] while shouting incoherently and running to and fro."

Also supposed to attract visitors was the Horticulture Building and Gardens, shown below.

Frederick Law Olmstead, another famous American architect and designer, sought to create "...not flower beds and ornamental gardens, but expanses of scenery full of mystery, shadow, and sun-stippled ground". Burnham was paid an equivalent of $360,000 to design the fair, and Olmstead was not that far behind. Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Books and others said that Chicagoans were "savages...Having seen [Chicago], I desire never to see it again." Burnham and others sought to change this.

And lastly, perhaps the most important, were the awe-inspiring visual attractions of tremendous height and significance. Greeting the was "Big Mary" also called "The Statue of the Republic".

Standing over 111 feet tall, "Big Mary" stood at the front of the entrance (the Peristyle), right on the water where steamships could bring visitors. Fireworks were projected right behind her towering frame.

But the Fair was remembered almost solely for one thing: the Ferris wheel. Constructed by George Ferris, it was to rival France's Eiffel Tower, which has been built in the 1889 World's Fair. It was supposed to be taller (264 feet), use more steel (146,000 pounds), and actually allow visitors to enjoy it by riding in it (a 20 minute ride)! Said one rider, "The sight is so inspiring that all conversation stopped, as all were lost in admiration of this grand sight. The equal of it I have never seen, and I doubt very much if I shall again."

Sadly, in one incident, one of the cars did break free, sending people plummeting to the ground. One man was killed, and three others injured. It earned an estimated $200,000 in ticket revenue, but never recovered the cost of constructing it.

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So, what does this all mean for Colorado? Well, __________ was in attendance, and saw an opportunity. By 1919, Denver was to have its own "city beautiful", much like the one Chicago had perfected.

Firstly, examine the panorama photo of Denver. Click here for a larger picture. In what ways is our city similar to the image at the top of the page, Chicago's World's Fair? What do both images include?

One of the dreams of __________'s city was to include a Greek inspired Capitol Building, much like the columns and structure found behind "Big Mary". Completed in 1894, the Denver Capitol Building was the crown jewel of __________'s dream.

Second in importance was the construction of the U.S. Mint and Denver Library (by way of a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie).

One of __________'s greatest visions was to have wide boulevards for people to drive their cars. In fact, Mt. Evans, named for John Evans of Denver-fame, is the highest paved road in the world at over 14,000 feet.

And lastly, perhaps Denver's greatest visions of "City Beautiful" comes in the form of parks and natural beauty. __________ ordered the "Keep Off the Grass" signs to be removed from all roadside parks, as he believed people needed a place to relax and recline. He constructed drinking fountains (so people wouldn't be thirsty for alcohol), walkways along the Cherry Creek River, and the city of Denver is even credited with the first official "crosswalk", invented by Henry Barnes, who called his crossing "The Barnes Dance". In looking at the city entrance below, what other forms of "transportation" could be found in "City Beautiful Denver"?

__________ left Cheeseman Park as his lasting legacy. A place where people could recline and relax. Again, constructed with the Greeks in mind, the perfect replica of the Greek temple was built of out solid Colorado white marble. Denver started out as a lawless dystopia, second only to San Francisco in terms of sin. But it ended as one of the perfect examples of the legacy of "City Beautiful".