The Cairo Street at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893

Nabila Oulebsir et Mercedes Volait (dir.) L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 István Ormos DOI: 10.4000/books.inha.4915 Publisher: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art Place of publication: Paris Year of publication: 2009 Published on OpenEdition Books: 5 December 2017 Serie: InVisu Electronic ISBN: 9782917902820 http://books.openedition.org Electronic reference ORMOS, István. The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 In: L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs [online]. Paris: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art, 2009 (generated 18 décembre 2020). Available on the Internet: <http://books.openedition.org/ inha/4915>. ISBN: 9782917902820. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.inha.4915. This text was automatically generated on 18 December 2020. The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 1 The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 István Ormos AUTHOR'S NOTE This paper is part of a bigger project supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA T048863). World’s fairs 1 World’s fairs made their appearance in the middle of the 19th century as the result of a development based on a tradition of medieval church fairs, displays of industrial and craft produce, and exhibitions of arts and peoples that had been popular in Britain and France. Some of these early fairs were aimed primarily at the promotion of crafts and industry. Others wanted to edify and entertain: replicas of city quarters or buildings characteristic of a city were erected thereby creating a new branch of the building industry which became known as coulisse-architecture. A deep and unshakable belief in the power of knowledge and in the importance of acquiring it characterized this era. We should remember that it saw a continuous progress in the natural sciences, a series of discoveries and inventions that seemed to have no limits in the physical world. This then resulted in continuously accelerating progress in industry, which in turn gradually transformed the life of the masses. These changes were sometimes confusing because they did not necessarily herald the advent of a better epoch; yet it was assumed that these latter cases only represented a temporary setback in the otherwise continuous advance of mankind. There was also a widespread and deep-seated conviction that the possession of knowledge made humans impervious to evil influences; thus the importance of world’s fairs in the acquisition of knowledge and in L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 2 the education of the masses was also greatly appreciated. World’s fairs were also regarded as more or less complete encyclopaedias of human knowledge. They included, among other things, the demonstration of peoples both from nearby and exotic countries in their accustomed surroundings, in addition to all sorts of animals from all over the world. This was also the period when museums, zoological and botanical gardens, and so-called panoramas were founded and became increasingly popular all over Europe and the rest of the world. It is interesting to note that from about 1870 on inhabitants of exotic countries were also displayed along with animals in zoological gardens under the name of “anthropologico-zoological expositions”, a peculiar custom which was later discontinued and faded into oblivion.1 In general, fairs were extremely popular in this period. Various sorts of fairs were organized in major centres and the population flocked to them: world’s fairs were perhaps the biggest and most comprehensive of all. World’s fairs had extremely complex and multifaceted ideological messages, which always depended on the given surroundings and on the exact ideological atmosphere of the organizing country. The assertion of national grandeur was always prominent: each country placed special emphasis on areas in which it considered itself pre-eminent. A world’s fair was always a good opportunity to show the world the face of one’s own country one considered characteristic and worthy of display. The strengthening of national consciousness and of the bonds within a given society was an important aspect of world’s fairs: parallel with the incredibly rapid progress of industrialization, the second half of the 19th century also saw the emergence of workers’ movements and trade unions, and it was by no means exceptional that simmering social tensions would result in more or less violent outbreaks of unrest. It was hoped that through their emphasis on nationalism world’s fairs would cement the bonds within a given society, thereby helping to defuse or at least diminish social tensions. Amusement always played a significant role in the history of world’s fairs, and this was especially the case with the representation of foreign populations. There can be no doubt, however, that in this latter field the aspect of education also played a significant role, and this must be seen in a positive light: no matter how artificial and rudimentary the display was, it afforded a possibility to see representatives of populations with whom one normally did not come into contact. In an era when travelling became fashionable and more and more popular, it was emphasized that visits to these shows were a substitute for journeys to these distant lands for those who could not afford them.2 Originally these shows were meant to be strictly scientific anthropological demonstrations of the evolution of the human species. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that within the framework of social-Darwinism, which was widely popular at the time, these peoples represented a lower level of development and – it was widely believed – could justly be regarded as primitive. Thus visitors were convinced that they had every right to look down on them, and could return home with the satisfaction that they themselves were so much superior to these wild beasts. In its turn, this circumstance also justified eventual imperialistic ambitions: raising the cultural level of these peoples and assuring proper rule for them made it appear desirable, even imperative, to subjugate them, because it provided them with the indispensable prerequisites of progress they were unable to attain by themselves.3 2 In every world’s fair innumerable new inventions were also presented to the public, and many new implements that were to change people’s life to a considerable degree in the years to come became known, and, within a short period of time, acquired a L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 3 popularity and circulation undreamt of under normal circumstances. The organizers of each world’s fair were keen to outdo the previous one in most respects, a circumstance which resulted in a real competition: each world’s fair was much bigger, more impressive and colourful than the preceding one, with ever new sights added, aspects and emphases modified. Chicago 3 Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 and to commemorate the 400th anniversary of this event a grandiose world’s fair was organized in America, the World’s Columbian Exposition – this was the official name – in Chicago in 1893. It was planned for 1892 but the opening was postponed until 1893 because of construction delays. In view of the numerous advantages and the considerable profit, both tangible and intangible, to be gained by hosting such an event there was very fierce competition among major towns such as New York, Washington DC, St Louis and Chicago as to who should organize it. On the other hand, it was also clear that only one exhibition was to be organized and it had to be a federal affair with the backing and support of the whole country because it was expected that the fair would give an impressive picture of America to the whole world. In the end Chicago outbid all its rivals and the US Congress awarded it the right to host this outstanding event on American soil. By that time Chicago had already become a major centre of industry and commerce as a consequence of the frenetic growth of previous decades, but it also had a rather bad reputation for poverty, disorder, crime and violence, which resulted in great social tension and massive continuous unrest among the population of the “Red City”, which consisted mainly of immigrants. A vivid example was the Haymarket Riot in 1886, which subsequently became the symbol of the oppression of the working classes, and to this day it is celebrated as May Day by workers all over the world. Only 22 years had passed since the great Chicago Fire of 1871 and, although its devastation had been repaired, the city had not yet fully overcome the impact of the tragedy. Chicago’s name still sounded barbaric to most American ears and the time had come, so the city’s leadership thought, to prove the contrary to America and the world alike by displaying their city as a haven of culture and order. Thus Chicago could at last assume its rightful place in the consciousness of the country on the basis of its achievements in industry and commerce. At the same time the organizers hoped that such an overwhelming event might help to defuse or at least ease social tensions in the city itself, in addition to the general boom involved in and resulting from the hosting of the fair: in a period of economic trouble the fair promised to generate commercial profits and increase real estate values.

Load more