Editing World's Columbian Exposition (section)

{{Short description|1893 world's fair in Chicago, Illinois, United States}}
{{For|the Chicago World's Fair held 1933–1934|Century of Progress}}
{{Use American English|date = November 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = November 2019}}
{{Infobox World's Fair
| box_width       = 
| class           = Universal
| category        = Historical Expo
| image           = Looking West From Peristyle, Court of Honor and Grand Basin, 1893.jpg
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and [[Statue of the Republic|''The Republic'' statue]] and administration building in 1893
| year            = 1893
| name            = World's Columbian Exposition
| motto           = 
| building        = 
| area            = {{convert|690|acre|ha|abbr=off}}
| invent          = 
| visitors        = 27,300,000
| organized       =
| cnt             = 46
| org             = 
| biz             = 
| country         = United States
| city            = [[Chicago]]
| venue           = [[Jackson Park (Chicago)|Jackson Park]] and [[Midway Plaisance]] in [[Chicago]]
| coord           = {{coord|41|47|24|N|87|34|48|W|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-IL}}
| cand            = 1882
| award           = 1890
| open            = {{start date and age|1893|05|01}}
| close           = {{end date|1893|10|30}}
| prevexpo        = [[Exposition Universelle (1889)]]
| prevcity        = [[Paris]]
| nextexpo        = [[Brussels International (1897)]]
| nextcity        = [[Brussels]]
| suppl           = 
| prevsuppl       = 
| prevsupcity     = 
| nextsuppl       = 
| nextsupcity     = 
| simuni          = 
| simspe          = 
| simhor          = 
| simoth          =
| website         = 
}}

The '''World's Columbian Exposition''', also known as the '''Chicago World's Fair''', was a [[world's fair]] held in [[Chicago]]  from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s arrival in the [[New World]] in 1492.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11369/ |title = Bird's-Eye View of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1893 |access-date = 2013-07-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131014070106/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11369/ |archive-date = 2013-10-14 |url-status = live }}</ref> The centerpiece of the Fair, held in [[Jackson Park (Chicago)|Jackson Park]], was a large water pool representing the voyage that Columbus took to the New World. Chicago won the right to host the fair over several competing cities, including [[New York City]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[St. Louis]]. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American [[Architecture of the United States|architecture]], the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago's image.

The layout of the Chicago Columbian Exposition was predominantly designed by [[John Wellborn Root]], [[Daniel Burnham]], [[Frederick Law Olmsted]], and [[Charles B. Atwood]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=World's Columbian Exposition |url=https://global.britannica.com/event/Worlds-Columbian-Exposition |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=14 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713022723/https://global.britannica.com/event/Worlds-Columbian-Exposition|archive-date=2017-07-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="devil" /> It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] principles of design, namely [[neoclassical architecture]] principles based on symmetry, balance, and splendor. The color of the material generally used to cover the buildings' façades, white [[Staff (building material)|staff]], gave the fairgrounds its nickname, the White City. Many prominent architects designed its 14 "great buildings". Artists and musicians were featured in exhibits and many also made depictions and works of art inspired by the exposition.

The exposition covered {{convert|690|acre|km2|1}}, featuring nearly 200 new but temporary buildings of predominantly neoclassical architecture, [[canal]]s and [[lagoon]]s, and people and cultures from 46 countries.<ref name="WDL" /> More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run. Its scale and grandeur far exceeded the other [[List of world's fairs|world's fairs]], and it became a symbol of emerging [[American exceptionalism]], much in the same way that the [[Great Exhibition]] became a symbol of the [[Victorian era]] United Kingdom.

Dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30, 1893. In addition to recognizing the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World, the fair served to show the world that Chicago had risen from the ashes of the [[Great Chicago Fire]], which had destroyed much of the city in 1871.<ref name="WDL" />

On October 9, 1893, the day designated as Chicago Day, the fair set a world record for outdoor event attendance, drawing 751,026 people. The debt for the fair was soon paid off with a check for $1.5 million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1500000|1893}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America|last = Larson|first = Erik|publisher = Vintage Books|year = 2003|isbn = 0-609-60844-4|location = New York|pages = 318–320}}</ref> Chicago has commemorated the fair with one of the stars on its [[Flag of Chicago|municipal flag]].<ref>{{cite web | title =Municipal Flag of Chicago | publisher =Chicago Public Library | year =2009 | url =http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/symbols/flag.php | access-date =2009-03-04 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130615003832/http://www.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/symbols/flag.php | archive-date =2013-06-15 | url-status =live }}</ref>