World's Columbian Exposition

The United States during the 1890s heralded a dramatic break between America’s past and future. It was a decade of extreme contradiction. The unmatched cultural advancement was accompanied by intense economic unrest. While this decade saw the rise of cities, advanced technology, and rollercoasters, it also saw economic depressions, the invention of detection, and the birth of America’s serial killer. The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 highlights the contradictions of United States culture, the same culture that brought us innovativeness and hope and the one that brought fear and panic. This paper will analyze the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the life of serial killer H.H. Holmes to contextualize the many contradictions of United States culture in the 1890s. In 1890, a majority voted that Chicago be the home for the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. The architects and city planners of Chicago envisioned a city that would “surpass the brilliance of the Paris…

Back in 1893, Chicago hosted an international fair, the World's Columbian Exposition. “It left us free, but it also left us homeless, penniless, ignorant , nameless, and friendless. From reading this book the first thing that came to mind was why do we have to prove ourselves”. As a community that was held back many years because of another man's problem of difference and skin color. We are African American but also we are human beings just like anyone else , and there are plenty of things that…

The Parisian “Exposition Universelle” of 1889, held to commemorate the storming of the Bastille, mesmerized the world with its artistic and architectural elegance. America, on the other hand, exhibited a humiliatingly lifeless and motley arrangement. Intent on redemption, America, lead by architect Daniel H. Burnham, organized the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, or the World’s Columbian Exposition, to honor the quadricentennial of Columbus’s “discovery” of America. To establish whether the fair led…

of Chicago is a unique, but mysterious metropolis like no other, complete with its fair share of tourist attractions, tall skyscrapers, and murder. It became the perfect place for a World's Fair. The great thought of such an event was sparked under the spirit of American patriotism. The Devil in the White City describes in great detail the birth of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, along with a second plot revealing the twisted mind of a serial killer. For that reason, this book is my favorite. …

I did some background information on Erik Larson, who also had written for the Harper’s, The New Yorker, and the Atlantic Monthly, had also contribute to Time magazine, and the Wall Street Journal as well. I believe that Erik Larson is trying to arguing in The Devil in the White City that the city (Chicago) is hiding it ugly side by covering it up with the World’s Fair which is also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition. The World Fair intended purpose was to bring the wonderful things…

The research question under discussion in this essay is to analyze what are the accounts for the dreamlike quality of the White City in the novel, (written by Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City) and how are these aspects of a negative affect or positive affect on the people and the city where it all takes place? This will help understand the importance of the setting, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair also known as The World's Columbian Exposition, to the storyline of the book. Also because…

On May 1, 1893 - Oct 30, 1893 people all over the world came together to celebrate and see things that had been happening around the world as far as industry and technology. The Chicago World’s Fair also known as The Columbian Exposition of 1893 was held in Jackson Park Chicago, Illinois. It celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival to the New World in 1492. It was designed by building architect and chief planner Daniel Burnham, the designer in chief Charles B. Atwood ,…

Erick Larson’s The Devil in the White City traces the period of chaos that took place in building the World’s Fair and the moment of pride that followed. Published in 2003 in New York, this book also displays the evil that worked behind all of the effort to expose America’s architecture to the world. In his book, Larson demonstrates America’s strive and desire to successfully host the 1893 World’s Fair. Larson tries to illustrate America’s stamina and endurance despite all of the troubles that…

The Devil in the White City is written by Erik Larson, an author that takes historical events but instead of just explaining the events, he leaves his readers at the edge of their seats, wanting more, and explains gaps that are left in history regarding the events of this book. This book is set during the World's Columbian Exposition or better known as the World’s Fair of 1893. The book is based on two men that are on the opposite side of the spectrum in society: Daniel Burnham, the architect of…

peepshow of utter horror, but extraordinarily to the point.” In what follows I would try to depict what Chicago was like at the end of the nineteenth century, it was a time known as “the gilded age” − an era of stunning changes, technological advances and reconsiderations of moral principles. By way of analyzing Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie” and Eric Larson’s “The Devil in the White City”, as well as some other relevant historical sources, I would reconstruct the social conditions in which…