If you bring up the subject of World’s Fairs, most Americans probably immediately think of the iconic New York World’s Fair of 1939, and, if they’re knowledgeable about history, they will also probably be able to mention the 1893 World’s Fair im Chicago (more properly known as the Columbian Exposition).
The 1893 fair was really Chicago’s debut on the world stage. The “White City” of exhibition buildings dazzled visitors. Only one building remained after the fair, the Palace of Fine Arts, which would become the Museum of Science and Industry. But that’s a better fate than what befell the NEXT World’s Fair to be hosted in Chicago. Forty years after the Columbian Exposition, the 1933 World’s Fair was meant to commemorate Chicago’s centennial. The fair itself was actually pretty successful and was carried over for a second year, but despite featuring some spiffy Art Deco buildings and a ton of entertainment venues, nothing was left except the Roman column donated by the Italian government to commemorate the trans-Atlantic flight of Italo Balbo that year. The 1933 fairgrounds became the home of McCormick Place and the now-defunct Meigs Field airstrip.
