Post on 15-Jan-2016
All The World’s A Fair
1893 Columbian Exposition
Columbian Exposition of 1893 Birds Eye View
Rydell’s Thesis
Berger and Luckman’s “symbolic universe”World Fairs as symbolic universesOrganized from a particular class perspectivePerformed a hegemonic functionPresented an ideology of “progress”Society became scientificCentral role played by ethnology and
Smithsonian Institute
Symbolic Universe
Structures of legitimation that provide meaning for social experience- Places all collective events in a cohesive
unity that includes past, present and future Establishes a common frame of reference
for the projection of individual actions Links people with their successors in a
meaningful totality, giving meaning to an individual’s death
Court of Honor
Court of Honor
View east from Ferris Wheel
Columbian Exposition as Symbolic Universe
Cohesive explanatory blueprint a reaction to country’s “unsettled condition” Directors of Fair offered “proper interpretation”
propagated ideas and values of countries political, financial, corporate, and intellectual leaders
presented an ideology of economic development labeled “progress”
transmitted new scientific view of evolution from academia to popular culture
Subtext of Columbian Exposition was scientific racism
“Mythic” aspects of Exposition
White City Statistics
Jackson Park --650 acres Cost-- $31 millionAttendance-- 27,529,400 during 179 days35 exposition corporation buildings, 38 state
buildings, 18 foreign country buildings (86 nations, colonies, or principalities participated)
Manufacturer’s and Mechanical Arts Building-- 44 acres, could hold 300,000 people with each having 6sq.ft. of space around them.
The foot of a main support arch in the Manufactures Building during construction.
Application of Staff
Decorating the Buildings
Manufacturers’ Building- West View
Manufacturer’s Building- Basin View
Eleven Ton Cheese Wheel-Canada
Dynamo
Midway
“Edutainment” Human “displays”First Ferris WheelColorful and noisy
Ferris Wheel
View from Ferris Wheel
West Entrance to Midway
Midway Village Street
Javanese Village
Dahomey “Village”
Sudenese mother and son
Algerian Village
Destruction of the Fair
Legacies and AftermathsThe original Ferris Wheel remained on the Midway until 1895, when it was dismantled and moved to 2643 North Clark Street, the present site of the Lincoln Park Post Office. It operated there until 1903 and was moved to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. The Ferris Wheel was dynamited and sold for scrap in 1906.
Although the glory of the World's Columbian Exposition was temporary, its influence lived on long after the fair closed. Many of the products displayed at the Exposition later became everyday features of American life. Its assemblies influenced the way people thought and the park-like Exposition grounds made many Americans want to beautify their neglected cities.