Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

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Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.

The same building as it appeared over 100 years ago:
The Palace of Fine Arts at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893,
photographer C.D. Arnold.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

57th Street and Lake Shore Drive

Chicago, IL

Website:  Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

The Treasure:  Located in the only remaining major building from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago is the largest science center in the country.

Accessibility:  The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago is open daily from 9:30 to 4, with occasional special extended hours.

Background:   In 1893, millions of people from all over the world flocked to Chicago to see the White City and its many attractions. Officially known as the World’s Columbian Exposition but often referred to as the Chicago World’s Fair, this massive celebration of the Gilded Age opened in May 1893 and closed just seven months later in October. In that short time, an estimated 27 million people visited the fair. Then the gates closed, the people went home, and nearly all the 200 buildings were soon lost to fire or neglect. Of the major buildings that were located in Jackson Park, only the Palace of Fine Arts remains, reopened as the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago in 1933.

The Save America's Treasures grant
enabled the Museum of Science and
Industry, Chicago to address the
building's exterior masonry, including
the carved limestone.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of
Science and Industry, Chicago.

Chicago architect Daniel Burnham of Burnham and Root served as Director of Works in charge of the World’s Columbian Exposition, pulling together a distinguished team of architects who had to work on tight schedules and limited budgets. White stucco was used on most building exteriors and this “white” effect was then amplified by the use of new-fangled electric street lights, prompting the nickname “the White City” for the centerpiece Court of Honor area. The extensive grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the extraordinarily influential landscape designer of Central Park in New York City as well as many other major urban parks.

The Palace of Fine Arts was a sturdier building than many at the fair. Designed by architect Charles B. Atwood, the Palace of Fine Arts was constructed with a brick substructure that was then plastered over with the white stucco. Extra care went into its construction since it was to be the showcase for loaned art masterpieces from other countries. In a city known for its fires, the Palace of Fine Arts needed to be fireproof.

After the fair, the building became the home of the Columbian Museum of Chicago, renamed the Field Museum of Natural History in 1905. One of Chicago’s most venerable institutions, the Field Museum moved out of Jackson Park and to its current location in the Chicago Park District in 1921. For several years, the large building lay vacant. Fortunately, it was rescued for new use by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, who pledged millions toward the establishment of an industrial museum to inspire children to become engineers, scientists, and doctors. While the conversion of the building included a replacement of the original exterior plaster with Indiana limestone, the overall appearance of the building today remains remarkably similar to how it looked when it was the Palace of Fine Arts in the White City in 1893.

One of Chicago’s most popular attractions, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago sprawls over 14 acres, offering more than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space. It’s the largest science center in the western hemisphere and has welcomed more than 175 million guests since it opened in 1933. Among the most physically impressive of the 35,000 artifacts at the museum, there’s the Apollo 8 space capsule, a German U-boat submarine, and a United Boeing 727 aircraft that’s cantilevered to the museum’s east balcony.

The highly decorative areas of the Museum's East and West Pavilions were
most affected by Chicago's extreme weather.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.

Closeup view of the Museum's East Knuckle rooftop.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.

Notes from the Editor:  There are always special exhibits and events at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago but this one particularly interests me:  In 2012, the museum has been celebrating its origins with “The White City… Then and Now.” Offered on special days, it combines a virtual simulation tour of the World’s Columbian Exposition as it would have looked in 1893 with a 25-minute architectural walking tour.

Like many people, my interest in the World’s Columbian Exposition was piqued by Erik Larson’s non-fiction bestseller Devil in the White City. I suspect most readers are lured to the book by the real-life horror story of the serial killer H.H. Holmes. But while that story is undeniably fascinating, it’s easily matched in intensity by the parallel story of Daniel Burnham’s heroic efforts to build the World’s Fair and make it an international success for Chicago. In this rare instance, I thought the hero stole the show from the villain.

Other Important Sites:  Check Chicago’s tourism websites to see if there are any tours of World’s Columbian Exposition locations. While the Museum of Science and Industry provides the best indication of the actual scale and appearance of the White City, other remnants of the fair remain. Daniel Burnham led the effort to build the fair from the 11th floor of the Rookery Building (209 South LaSalle Street), a handsome building that the Burnham and Root firm designed in 1888. Various trees and lagoons in Jackson Park date back to the fair’s original landscaping. The Wooded Isle in Jackson Park was the site of Olmstead’s Japanese Garden. Midway Plaisance, a grassy median that runs through the University of Chicago, served as the main grounds of the fair. Here construction crews recently unearthed the foundations that supported the giant Ferris wheel that was one of the White City’s most famous attractions.

Chicago World's Fair 1893, a chromolithograph by H.D. Nichols,
published by L. Prang and Co. From the collection of the Boston Public Library.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

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© 2012 Lee Price