Chicago International Exposition of 1893

Use of electricity

Name
: World's Columbian Exposition
Period
: May 1, 1893 - October 30, 1893
Venue
: Chicago (Jackson Park, Midway Plaisance)
No. of visitors
: 27,529,000

This was held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by C. Columbus. Attracting visitors equivalent to approximately half of the U.S. population of those days, the event was the largest exposition held in the 19th century in the United States. The district with an array of main exhibition buildings was designed with a unified theme of the neo-classicism style, a revival of ancient Greek and Roman models. The exposition featured the Women's Building, which was planned and operated by women; the Japanese Lady's Boudoir was set up by Japan. Also, at an entertainment district, large-scale park rides, such as a Ferris Wheel, the world's first huge wheel, were installed, to the great delight of visitors. This popularity led to the subsequent establishment of amusement parks at international expositions. Also, the exposition was characterized by many applications of electricity as a power source.
(Column: Use of Electricity)

References:

Finding, J. E., Pelle, K. D. ed.: Historical dictionary of world's fairs and expositions, 1851-1988 (Greenwood Press, 1990) <D7-B3>
Notoji, Masako.: Sekai koronbusu kinen hakurankai – Hyakunengo no shiten kara mita shikago no yume in Rossiter, J. ed.: A history of the World's Columbian Exposition : held in Chicago in 1893. v. 1 (Athena Press, 2004) <D7-B5>
Oi, Koji.: Howaito shiti no genei (Kenkyusha shuppan, 1993) <GH94-E4>
Terashita, Tsuyoshi (ed).: Hakurankai kyoki (Ekisupuran, 1987) <D7-E85>