Souvenir of White City

The Chicago World’s Fair, known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, was held from May 5 to October 31, 1893. It celebrated the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival to the New World. The exposition was an epoch-making event as it marketed and shaped the imaginary of the future city. About 25 million visited the Fair, and many more experienced it in newspapers, magazines, and journals. The promotion of the Fair also included the circulation of promotional souvenirs such as badges, glassware, prints, postcards, medals, and charms that prolonged the experience of the Exposition. Moreover, many objects like silver trays to powder boxes pin back buttons were stamped with the Fair’s mark and sold to the public. The Fair featured pavilions of 46 cultures around the world and around 200 new, but temporary, buildings, canals, and lagoons.   

The Fair was also known as ‘White City’ because the temporary buildings were made by a construction material called ‘staff,’ a mixture of plastic, cement, and other materials which gave the impression of being marble. ‘White City’ was built by a group of architects under the supervision of Daniel Burham. The temporary city was built along the Lake MIchigan shoreline. It had a Court of Honor, a Transportation Building, an Administration Building, a Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, an Anthropological Building, and an Electrical Building. Electricity was highlighted through a series of dazzling displays and interactive exhibits. The Fair promoted electricity by making it visually captivating, and entertaining. The buildings were connected by avenues and boulevards with many canals and basins giving the impression of an ideal or dream city.