Bringing the Fair to Chicago
Chicago was a rising city that employed and attracted many foreign immigrants. Since more than 40% of the Chicago population were immigrants, Chicago was able to represent many cultures.Chicago’s meteoric rise to become the second largest American city by 1890 made it the nation’s industrial nerve center, drawing hundreds of thousands of foreign immigrants and rural dwellers to the city. In the twenty years between 1870 and 1890, Chicago's population more than tripled, while over 40% of Chicago dwellers were born outside of the U.S. The city’s central location made it a major railroad hub, connecting the East with the West, and farmers and ranchers with consumers.
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Traffic Jam in Chicago |
Birds-Eye View of the Fair |
Chicago was the best city for the fair because of its immense population, and it had the land available to hold the fair.Chicago had a long list of attributes that ultimately made it the best choice for the fair site. It had a thriving business community and a population of one million. The city was also blessed with 2,000 acres of parks, many with expansive waterfront on Lake Michigan, and all connected by wide boulevards. Nearly half of the acreage was in Jackson and Washington parks alone, which were within a half mile of one another. Further, twenty-four different railroads had terminals in Chicago, creating an elaborate and highly efficient network for transporting people and freight.
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After the Great Fire of 1871, Chicago was able to come back even stronger than it was before. This proved that Chicago was capable of holding a fair that could top the Paris Exposition.Nowhere was civic pride a more powerful force than in Chicago, where men spoke of the "Chicago spirit" as if it were a tangible force and prided themselves on the speed with which they had rebuilt the city after the Great Fire of 1871. They had not merely restored it; they had turned it into the nation's leader in commerce, manufacturing, and architecture.
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The Great Fire of 1871 |