Presented by Scott Cummings
The 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago was big. Abnormally big. “The unconquerable American desire to do things on a bigger scale than anybody else, which often results in our ‘biting off more than we can chew,’ has again run away with us,” wrote Scribner’s Magazine about this colossal enterprise in Jackson Park. “There are many illustrations of this gnawing hunger at the World’s Fair.” This travelogue and magic lantern show will serve up a feast of stupendous attractions on the fairgrounds, from a tenebrous treehouse, to a chthonian crystalline cave, to a maddeningly mountainous machine on the Midway. Also on the menu are eldritch electrical enigmas, a gargantuan gourd, an ominous oven, and the biggest gun, the biggest golden effigy, and the biggest spyglass in the biggest building in the world.
Scott Cummings is an independent researcher who publishes worldsfairchicago1893.com, an educational website devoted to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. When not exploring the White City, he has served on the Board of Directors of the International Wizard of Oz Club and as editor-in-chief of its journal. He writes articles and presents talks on a wide range of topics, including renewable energy, obscure theater shows, author L. Frank Baum, and the history of the Chicago fairgrounds. He presented a talk on “13 Places to Hide a Body at the 1893 World’s Fair” for the 2024 Chicago Steampunk Exposition.
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