Essay On Chicago Fair

The Chicago World’s Fair was many things: a showcase of modern technologies and revolutionary discoveries, an architectural masterpiece that dazzled millions, a commercial success that carried Chicago through an economic depression. Above all else, however; it served as a symbol of American pride and arrogance. From its very inception, the fair served as means by which Chicago could surpass New York and Philadelphia in grandeur and fame, with every Chicagoan eagerly awaiting the opportunity to gloat. Burnham, Olmsted, Ferris, and the multitude of architects who worked on the fair each saw a chance to become part of the greatest fair in history, and each wanted their names to be remembered alongside the fair. Between the architects competing

When Chicago was chosen to host the World Fair, Burnham seized the opportunity presented to him and began working on what would become his masterpiece. His rejection by Harvard and Yale, the accusations that John Root was responsible for his success, the doubts about the fair, all of it forced Burnham to prove himself and silence the voices that doubted him. When Root died and people began to laud his achievements and lament his death, Burnham had to resist the urge to exclaim that he, “had been the engine driving the design of the fair; that he was the partner who had propelled the firm of Burnham & Root to greater and greater achievement” (108). Root being seen as the cause of their company’s success bruised Burnham’s ego, and though desiring recognition is natural, the lengths Burnham pursued to bring his vision of the fair to life suggest recognition was far from the only thing Burnham wanted. As he puts it, he sought to secure “his own place in architectural history;” not the city of Chicago’s, not anyone else’s, his (320). The fair was to be his crowning achievement, proving once and for all that he was America’s greatest architect and the creator of the greatest fair in

The enormous cost and the excessive beauty and grandiosity of the buildings substantiates the fact that it was never truly about money or commercial success for any of them. It was about building something unforgettable, something that would cement themselves and America as the greatest in the world. Everything about the fair was designed to impress and serve as the pinnacle of each architect’s career, the primary work they would be remembered for. Naturally, it became a competition between the architects to see who could build the most beautiful and memorable building. On numerous occasions, Burnham had to rein them in and force them to accept his suggestions. This can be seen as him trying to reduce cost and the time it would take to build, but it could also be seen as Burnham’s hubris clouding his judgment and preventing him from accepting ideas other than his own. When he brought guests on a tour of the fair, he took them on a route which he had designed and believed was the best way to experience the fair. Guests would see the fair how he wanted them to see it, and as such would be naturally inclined to give him the most credit for its design and beauty. The competition between Burnham and each architect illustrates how the fair was built to reflect the arrogance and pride of its creators, rather