The Chicago World Exposition 1893
 

Year: 1893 City: Chicago Country: USA Duration: 1st May - 30th October 1893

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Official title: World's Columbian Exposition

Occasion: 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in 1492

Opening: 1 May 1893 by President Grover Cleveland

Duration: 1 May - 30 October 1893 (183 days)

Location: Jackson Park on the shores of Lake Michigan

Start of planning/construction: 1882/September 1891

Outstanding features: White City - exhibition palaces

Ferris Wheel - at the Midway Plaisance amusement par

Organisation: National Commission with 108 members (president: Thomas W. Palmer) responsible for fundamental decisions and supervision of the organisation committee – the World's Columbian Exposition Corporation

In charge of the organisation committee: President: Harlow Higinbotham
Director general of the exhibition: Colonel George R. Davis

Chief architects: Daniel H. Burnham, John W. Root, Charles B. Atwood

Landscaping: Frederick L. Olmstedt

Area: 278 hectares in total of which 40 hectares were for the exhibition buildings (over 200 of them)

Exhibitors: 70,000 of which 25,000 came from America, 4,000 from Germany, 2,700 from France, 2,200 from Great Britain, 1,100 from Russia

Classification: 12 sections, 172 groups, 917 classes

Foreign countries taking part: 45

Visitors: 27,529,400 of which 4,348,760 were non-paying guests

Admission charges:
Adults: 0.50 dollars; Children aged from 6 to 12: 0.25 dollalrs

Expenditure: 28,151,168 dollars

Takings: 28,448,524 dollars (from admission charges, licenses, subsidies and subscriptions)


Congresses: 55 congresses dealing with topics
such as:
- Scientific and social progress
- Intellectual, moral and material developments in the world

Jurors: 852 jurors arranged in 13 committees in accordance with the 13 divisions of the exposition

Participants in the competition: 65,422 exhibitors


Awards: 3,757 bronze medals with certificate detailing the qualities of the product awarded to 21,000 exhibitors