Snapshots of the Past

World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill. May 1, 1893 (opening ceremonies): The Grand Basin – Vintage Print

World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill. May 1, 1893 (opening ceremonies): The Grand Basin — historic photograph
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill. May 1, 1893 (opening ceremonies): The Grand Basin. Historic photograph from the World's Fairs collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill. May 1, 1893 (opening ceremonies): The Grand Basin. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Ill. May 1, 1893 (opening ceremonies): The Grand Basin

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The Grand Basin was the centerpiece of the World's Columbian Exposition, the 1893 fair held in Chicago's Jackson Park to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. Its long reflecting pool ran between rows of white neoclassical buildings, and the fair's designers, led by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, arranged the grounds around it to create a formal vista. This c1893 print, copyrighted by C.D. Arnold, captures the fair's opening-day ceremonies, when the basin and its surrounding architecture were shown to the public for the first time. The fair's "White City" design influenced American city planning for decades afterward.

Medium1 photographic print.
Notesc1893.
SubjectsPhoto copyrighted by C.D. Arnold. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Telegraph; Exhibitions--Illinois; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,686 × 1,363 px · prints to 6 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-128138

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