The U.S. Census Bureau exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair included a demonstration
of census clerks tabulating 1890 Census data using Hollertih Tabulators. The
display earned Hollerith a bronze medal (similar to the one above), designed by
scultptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and U.S. Mint engraver Charles E. Barber.
Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On May 1, 1893, more than 100,000 people celebrated the opening of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair in the city's Jackson Park. Formally known as the "World's Fair: Columbian Exposition," the 6-month celebration honored the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the "New World." Most visitors remembered the fair not because it honored Columbus, but because it showcased the bustling city of Chicago, IL, which recently became the nation's second-largest city. Although the exposition's "Beaux Arts" architecture was reminiscent of 17th and 18th century France, the displays within these structures exhibited the frenetic pace of American industrial and economic growth. The fantastic sights left most visitors awestruck by the promising future that lay ahead for the United States.
St. Louis, MO; New York City, NY; Chicago, IL; and Washington, DC, all vied for the opportunity to host the 1893 World's Fair. On April 25, 1890, Congress awarded the fair to Chicago thanks to a last minute funding campaign that saw Chicago's elite industrialists raise millions of dollars more than the New York bid backed by that city's wealthy financiers.
Construction of the fairgrounds and buildings began soon after Congress awarded the fair to Chicago. Within a year, 40,000 people were working at the site that comprised more than 600 of the meticulously manicured acres of Jackson Park, which had been designed by landscaped architects Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. Workers built 14 main buildings (enclosing 63 million square feet), food and drink concessions, numerous smaller buildings, and an 80 acre "Midway Plaisance" containing carnival-style rides and attractions. The construction consumed more than 75 million board feet of lumber, 18,000 tons of iron and steel, 120,000 incandescent lights, and 30,000 tons of staff—a type of white plaster facade that encased many of the buildings and earned the fair its "White City" nickname.
Three years and more than $28 million later, 100,000 people attended the fair's May 1, 1893, opening ceremony. Among the attendees was President Grover Cleveland, who started the generators that powered the fair's lights, exhibits, and rides. Between May 1 and October 30, 1893, more than 27 million people attended the fair. Visitors could view state-sponsored exhibits and cultural displays from 46 participating nations. The fair's 14 "great buildings" housed artwork, cultural displays, and the latest technology and inventions in fields that included agriculture, mining, manufactures, transportation, and machinery.
A smaller building—the U.S. Governments Building—contained exhibits sponsored by the cabinet agencies, displays of currency, carrier pigeons, a massive California redwood tree, and two floor-to-ceiling tanks of fresh and salt water fish. Among these displays was the U.S. Department of Interior's Census Office exhibit. During fair hours, census clerks tabulated data from the 1890 Census using Herman Hollerith's electric tabulating equipment. The speed with which the clerks punched and tabulated cards containing data mesmerized the crowds and earned Hollerith a bronze medal for his invention.
The fair ended on a somber note 6 months later, when disgruntled office seeker Patrick Prendergast shot and killed popular Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison in the foyer of his home on October 28, 1893. (Prendergast was executed for the murder on July 13, 1894.) Instead of elaborate closing ceremonies, the fair held a public memorial service for the city's beloved mayor. The fair gates closed on October 30, 1893, with an artillery salute and the lowering of flags. A military band played quietly as the last visitors exited the fairgrounds.
A series of fires destroyed most of the fair buildings in 1894. A few remain today, including the Palace of Fine Arts (now the Museum of Science and Industry) in Jackson Park and the World's Congress Building (current home of the Art Institute of Chicago) in Grant Park. Despite the loss of these buildings and exhibits, you can still use census data and records to learn about the people and technology that made the 1893 Chicago World's Fair so remarkable. For example:
The 1893 World's Fair celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the "New World" in 1892. Situated in Chicago, IL's Jackson
Park—a 1,055 acre park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux—the fair included exhibits, demonstrations, and performances highlighting
the culture, technology, and artwork of attending nations.
The fair drew more than 27 million visitors between May 1 and October 30, 1893—equivalent to more than 40 percent of the entire U.S. population at
the time of the 1890 Census!
Photo courtesy of the Kalamazoo, MI, Public Library.
A series of fires between 1893 and 1894 destroyed most buildings built for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
The Palace of Fine Arts is the only surviving large fair building that remains in Jackson Park—the 1,055 acre park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
The park was built after the U.S. Congress selected Chicago, IL, as the fair's host city. Charles B. Atwood designed the building for D.H. Burnham & Co.
Unlike the temporary wood, plaster, and jute fiber used to construct the other fair buildings, Atwood designed the Palace of Fine Arts to incorporate a more "fireproof" brick and steel substructure to protect the artwork exhibited inside.
Thanks to an endowment by Sears, Roebuck and Company president Julius Rosenwald, the Fine Arts Building is home to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
This public domain photograph is available courtesy of Project Gutenberg.