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The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893

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The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 The Invisible Triumph: The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 JAMES V. STRUEBER Ohio State University, AT1 JOHANNA HAYS Auburn University INTRODUCTION from Engineering Magazine, The World's Columbian Exposition (WCE) was the first world exposition outside of Europe and was to Thus has Chicago gloriously redeemed the commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of obligations incurred when she assumed the Columbus reaching the New World. The exhibition's task of building a World's Fair. Chicago's planners aimed at exceeding the fame of the 1889 businessmen started out to prepare for a Paris World Exposition in physical size, scope of finer, bigger, and more successful enter- accomplishment, attendance, and profitability.' prise than the world had ever seen in this With 27 million attending equaling approximately line. The verdict of the jury of the nations 40% of the 1893 US population, they exceeded of the earth, who have seen it, is that it the Paris Exposition in all accounts. This was partly is unquestionably bigger and undoubtedly accomplished by being open on Sundays-a much finer, and now it is assuredly more success- debated moral issue-the attraction of the newly ful. Great is Chicago, and we are prouder invented Ferris wheel, cheap quick nationwide than ever of her."5 transportation provided by the new transcontinental railroad system all helped to make a very successful BACKGROUND financial plans2Surprisingly, the women's contribu- tion to the exposition, which included the Woman's Labeled the "White City" almost immediately, for Building and other women's exhibits accounted for the arrangement of the all-white neo-Classical and 57% of total exhibits at the exp~sition.~In addition neo-High Renaissance architectural style buildings railroad development to accommodate the exposi- around a grand court and fountain poolI6 the WCE tion, set the heart of American trail transportation holds an ironic position in American history. The in Chicago for the century to come. Architecturally White City was the successful compromise of ten the exposition set the American architectural style architects pressured by time and space to find a until the 1930's through securing the participation unifying look for their fantasy city. However, the and-most remarked on at the time the coopera- true fantasy city and city of the future was actually tion of ten of the most prominent US architects, downtown Chicago. The inventors of twentieth cen- this was a major accomplishment because of the tury architecture; Burnharn, Root, Baron Jenny, and personalities and different stylistic philosophies from Louis Sullivan outshone their own best real works the east to west coasts. with a ersatz Venetian isle of artificial canals and gondolas, seductively lit with new electric lights and At the close of the exposition, Engineering Magazine torches, accessed by the then ultra modern elevated noted that the New York papers lauded Chicago's electric trains and electric moving sidewalks. success, success that had "broken down the hostile feelings that prevailed so long" and finally acknowl- Daniel Burnham's final report states the first action edged Chicago with a "laudation, well deserved, of Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition Corpo- though somewhat tardy.lr4They quoted extensively ration was to send railroad president, E. T. Jeffery, and civil engineer, Octave Chanute, to the Paris THE INVISIBLE TRIUMPH 363 Exposition, which was still open at the time of the Consequently, the Chicago women were able to incorporation in the fall of 1889, Jeffrey's report contribute substantially to the success of the exposi- was a handbook on exposition events and details: tion both nationally and internationally. According Paris supplied ample entertainment and recreation, to WCE final reports, women produced nineteen theaters, concert halls, foreign "villages," electric percent of the Transportation Building exhibits, lighting at night, a narrow gauge railway along the forty-six percent of the Horticulture exhibits, and Seine and presented intellectual conferences with a high percent of the Fine Arts and Liberal Arts comprehensive and well-organized exhibits. The Building displays.10 Displays at the Woman's Build- Paris Exposition was Chicago's model for financial ing and all other exhibition buildings pushed the success and international acclaim. total of women's exhibits to fifty-seven percent of all exhibits at the exposition." This stands as an However, for the creators of the Woman's Building extraordinary achievement of exposition goals for the model for their participation was to be the Phila- the Board of Lady Managers along with their initial delphia Centennial, 1873 to 1875-a model they fight to be an official committee of the exposition, chose not to follow. The board and its chair, Bertha not just lady volunteers. Honore Palmer, (the wife of a prominent Chicago businessman and real estate developer) sought to Consumer driven entrepreneurship, also, produced avoid the limitations of the separate spheres im- a plethora of consumer goods that have become posed on women at the previous exposition when standard items-Aunt Jemima pancakes, chili con women across the country had contributed funds to carne, Crackerjacks, the zipper, yellow pencils, that exposition expecting fair and equal representa- and the picture postcard sold as souvenirs. It was tion for the accomplishments of women. After giving the introductory event for electric driven conve- over ninety thousand dollars to the Philadelphia Fair niences-the first elevated train and "moveable Board of Finance, that board denied the Women's sidewalk," the automatic door opener, ironing ma- Philadelphia Centennial Committee the promised chines, elevators, cash registers, carpet sweepers, space in the main building and told them to build doorbells, phonographs, clocks, dentist's drill, and their own building. Renewing their fundraising ef- dish washers. It was the occasion of the first long forts, the Philadelphia women did build their own distance telephone call (from Chicago to New York), separate building in order to show their exhibits in the first sporting event under electric lights (a night- an harried effort they struggled to meet the deadline time football game), and largest Ferris Wheel made and produced a product that did not satisfy its cre- until the end of the twentieth century. ators. Considered in retrospect, of all the problems they tried to solve, their representative said that the The WCE was the inspiration for the "Emerald City" "first great mistake" was using the male architect in the Wizard of Oz, the "amber waves of grain" of the main building for their str~cture.~ of America the Beautiful, and for ~isne~1and.l~ It stands as the prototype of American planning, Thus, warned by past events, the WCE Board of material excesses, shoddy consumerism, blatant Lady Managers' resolutions included integration of racism, and the sellout of Progressive idealism. For women's work throughout the exposition, a separate almost a century, this symbol of the great American building designed by a woman and under the control expansionist society lay quietly in its niche waiting to of the Board of Lady Managers, plus permission detonate in the late twentieth century as exemplar from Congress to solicit the work of women for the of the path to Progress wrongly taken.13 exposition internationally and nationally.8 Bertha Palmer traveled in Europe meeting with ministers "Progress" started with a site designed by a quite and heads of state in order to arrange international elderly Frederick Law Olmsted, which required ex- representation in the expositions; other women tensive reshaping of the swampland site to drain board members were responsible for South America it and create an artificial lagoon.14 The Milwaukee and Asia. Palmer found that the fact that a twenty- Railroad laid a second track in 1892 for exposition one year old woman had designed the exhibitions traffic and thus made regular commuting from building, "was considered [by the Europeans] most the suburb possible and contributing to Chicago's astonishing, as well as indicative of the advance- growth and development as a commuter city and ment of American ~omen."~ transportation center for the Midwest.15 Throughout the construction and exhibition period, Harper's Weekly, supported the idea of the exposition as an Harper's Weekly (the most influential weekly in the exceptional national statement of technical exper- country) reported with obvious admiration that, tise and social progressivism. The publication made when the WCE Board was running out of funds the case for the morality of Sunday attendance, in the midst of construction, Burnham had hired chided the railways into creating special low excur- four trains to bring the United States Congress to sion rates, exhorted participation of all the states Chicago to see the results of the work to date and as an issue of patriotism, and exposition promo- make clear the need for additional appropriations. tion as "the most complete illustration of human progress and refinement on this continent."'Vheir Every Chicago effort is titanic, but this plan support extended to lavish cover illustrations of of transporting a national Legislature over the construction, happy train travelers, and festive a thousand miles, gorging it to repletion for spectators throughout the period. three days until it has to be cajoled out of bed to go home for the purpose of giving it a flying trip through a park and a half THE POLITICS hour lecture is an achievement unparalleled in the history of both Western towns and parliamentary government^.'^ In 1891, Chicago had fought in open competition, in Congress, for the exposition. Chicago's powerful entrepreneurship, pushed past St. Louis, Washing- The strategy worked to the degree that Congress ton, and a particularly litigious New York to beat authorized the printing of 2.5 million WCE half dol- out all contenders. Harper's Weekly, a New York lars, which enterprising Chicago sold for a dollar publication repeatedly admonished New York and apiece.20 fully supported Chicago's exposition.
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