It transformed the desolate, swampy landscape of Chicago's Jackson Park into a novelist's model for the Emerald City. It provided a stage for the escapes of a young Harry Houdini, the Wild West show of Buffalo Bill Cody and the fiery oration of Frederick Douglas.
It showcased distant cultures, envisioned brave new worlds and served as the backdrop for the assassination of a sitting mayor.
It was the Columbian Exposition of 1893, America's one-year-late celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the New World. More than that, the fair has been called the seminal event in Chicago's history.
The six-month festival signaled the complete resurrection of it's host city from the great fire of 1871. But more importantly, it gave the 19th Century world a glimpse of the wonders to come in the 20th.
America's first taste of the power and prestige that a great fair can deliver came after the 1876 Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia. More than 10 million people made the journey to celebrate the U.S.'s 100th birthday, and the event showcased the industrial prowess of the young nation.
But the Philadelphia exposition was quickly eclipsed in size and stature by two world fairs held in Paris, one in 1878 and the other in 1889. The latter was a spectacular success, highlighted by the unveiling of France's Eiffel Tower.
In 1888 Congress passed a bill calling for a quad-centennial celebration of Columbus' discovery, sparking an intense competition among several major cities hoping to host the event.
By the end of 1889, only Chicago and New York remained in the running. Newspapers in both cities launched mudslinging campaigns, but in the end, Chicago won out due to its transportation connections, its history of holding major political and business conventions and its pledge of $4 million to aid in construction.
Planners of the Columbian Exposition hired famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to find a suitable location in Chicago to build the fair. Olmsted's biggest achievement at the time was designing New York's Central Park, with the aid of fellow architect Calvert Vaux.
Olmsted arrived in Chicago in August 1890 with his assistant, Henry Codman. The pair inspected seven sites and eventually decided on Jackson Park, a scanty, bleak stretch of landscape lying eight miles south of the Loop. The barrenness of the park gave Olmsted the space he needed to build his vision.
After choosing the fair's site, Olmsted hired Chicago architect Daniel Burnham to be chief of construction. Burnham and his partner John Root selected a team of architects from across the country to design and build the main exhibit buildings.
Construction of the fairgrounds began in January 1891. Millions of tons of ground were unearthed to create the lagoons and waterways that Olmsted envisioned populating the fairgrounds. Thousands of laborers worked on the grounds each day for 20 months, and spectators were charged 25 cents to watch the proceedings.
The exhibition buildings were made to last only six months. The building frames consisted of steel and wood, but the exteriors were made of staff, a combination of plaster of paris and hemp. The outside walls were then painted a brilliant white. The completed buildings looked like structures built to last, not like decorated shells that would stand only for the duration of the fair.
The effect of the gleaming exteriors of the main buildings would be so great that fairgoers would refer to the exposition site as the White City. The fair's planning committee suggested that all of the buildings be made in the classical style, with a unified motif to create a focused architectural effect. Most of the the architects, however, still managed to project a sense of uniqueness with their individual buildings.
Beginnings of the White City
Scores of painters and sculptors created statuary -- chiefly made of staff -- for the fairgrounds and the interiors of many of the main buildings. World famous artist Francis Millet supervised the painting, while Augustus Saint-Gaudens was in charge of the sculpture.
After the fair, some of the statuary was shipped off to other locations, while the rest met the same fate as most of the buildings -- they were destroyed.
The fair opens
The fair opened on May 1, 1893. Admission was 50 cents for adults and children. The opening day crowd was lighter than expected, most likely because of the overcast weather.
President Grover Cleveland came to Chicago to give a dedication address and start the proceedings. He turned a key and suddenly flags unfurled and fountains throughout the fairgrounds were activated. The Columbian Exposition was officially opened.
The grand entrance