Exposition
In 1890, Congress passed legislation giving federal sponsorship to an exposition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. The act had established a World's Columbian Exposition Commission to oversee the fair. Leading citizens of Chicago established a World's Columbian Exposition Company ("the Company") to organize the construction, and the Company generally emerged as successful in the resulting infighting as to which group would be in charge. Had it not been for Daniel Burnham, head of the Company's Board of Architects, the fair might never have been built. Burnham, whose favorite saying was, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood", became the czar of the exposition's construction.
An undeveloped site of 686 acres (278 ha) on the shores of Lake Michigan was selected for the fairgrounds. The buildings were in the classical style, reflecting Greek and Roman influences, and were composed of a combination of plaster of paris and hemp called "stuff" which resembled marble. President Benjamin Harrison invited "all the world" to take part; many foreign countries erected buildings, and every US state and territory was represented.
Read more about this topic: Columbian Exposition Half Dollar
Famous quotes containing the word exposition:
“Men are like plants; the goodness and flavor of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the government we obey, the system of religion we profess, and the nature of our employment.”
—Michel Guillaume Jean De Crevecoeur (1735–1813)
“Art is beauty, and every exposition of art, whether it be music, painting, or the drama, should be subservient to that one great end. As long as nature is a means to the attainment of beauty, so-called realism is necessary and permissable [sic], but it must be realism enhanced by idealism and uplifted by the spirit of an inner life or purpose.”
—Julia Marlowe (1866–1950)
“Hard times accounted in large part for the fact that the exposition was a financial disappointment in its first year, but Sally Rand and her fan dancers accomplished what applied science had failed to do, and the exposition closed in 1934 with a net profit, which was donated to participating cultural institutions, excluding Sally Rand.”
—For the State of Illinois, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)