Bird’s Eye View of the World’s Columbian Exposition

Fine woodcut view of the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

The grandeur of the “White City” of Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition is skillfully rendered in this bird’s eye view of the fair grounds. Each building is shown in a stylized profile at an oblique angle to maximize the visual impact. For easy reference, the major points of interest are labeled at the bottom of the sheet.

Several highlights of the fair are shown in the panorama, but not included in the legend. The Viking, a replica longship sailed to Lake Michigan from Norway, shares the artificial harbor with the U.S.S Illinois – the naval exhibit designed to look like a battleship, but in reality was a stucco-covered pile of wood and brick. The Statue of the Republic is shown presiding over the large central pool, intended to represent the long voyage of Columbus.

Oddly, the Fine Arts Building (today’s Museum of Science and Industry) is omitted from the view. That structure, along with a reduced Statue of the Republic and Japanese tea garden hidden by the trees are the only remnants of the fair still visible to a visitor to Chicago’s Jackson Park.