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Photos of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

Visitors at the fair were introduced to everything from Cracker Jack and Juicy Fruit gum to large-scale electric lighting and the Ferris wheel.

By Alan Taylor
A black-and-white photograph from 1893 showing several people standing along a fence on top of a building, looking out over a large fairground filled with ornate buildings
Chicago History Museum / Getty

One hundred thirty-one years ago, Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, which recorded more than 25 million admissions from May 1 through October 31, 1893. The overall theme was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World. Architect Daniel Burnham and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted worked together with many others to reshape a swampy park along Lake Michigan into a 686-acre Venetian-inspired fairground. More than 65,000 exhibits from 46 nations were displayed in more than 200 structures built for the fair. Visitors were introduced to many new (and relatively new) concepts, inventions, and products, from Cracker Jack and Juicy Fruit gum to large-scale electric lighting and the Ferris wheel.

This photo essay originally misidentified the year a “farthest north” record was set.

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About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.