The Full Length Film: "EXPO" Magic of the White City. Narrated by Gene Wilder.

THE DIGITAL RESEARCH LIBRARY OF ILLINOIS HISTORY JOURNAL™ PRESENTS

EXPO – Magic of the White City.

Narrated by Gene Wilder.
[runtime: 2 hours]

Narrated by Gene Wilder, EXPO – Magic of the White City brings the Chicago World’s Fair to life. Experience the world of 1893 through a cinematic visit to Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition.

Nearly 28 million people visited the Fair. Dubbed the “White City,” it inspired future innovators like Henry Ford and Frank Lloyd Wright, unveiled the Ferris Wheel and, in many ways, marked the beginning of the 20th century. Many of the era’s greatest achievements in science, technology, and culture were unveiled there. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for his design of New York City’s Central Park, and constructed under the supervision of Daniel Burnham.

The Fair was an engineering marvel. On opening day, President Grover Cleveland depressed a golden telegraph key which sent the first courses of electricity throughout the Fair powering fountains, machines, electric railways and thousands of lights. It was the first use of electricity on such a massive scale.

In addition, fairgoers enjoyed the Midway Plaisance where a one-mile boulevard of fun offered camel riding and guilty pleasures such as belly dancing, street fighting, and beer drinking. Against the backdrop of 1893’s troubles with workers’ rights, prejudice, discrimination and corruption, the World’s Columbian Exposition cast a brief ray of hope for the future of humanity.

Filmed in spectacular High-Definition, EXPO – Magic of the White City immerses viewers in one of the world’s biggest extravaganzas and one of the most unforgettable events in American history. 

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

MORE READING:
OVER 100 BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE 1893 WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION IN MY DIGITAL RESEARCH LIBRARY OF ILLINOIS HISTORY®. 

Electric (Amusement) Park in Plainfield, Illinois. (1903-1923)

In the late 1890s, the Joliet, Plainfield & Aurora interurban Railway opened an electric line connecting those three communities. In 1903, Joliet, Plainfield & Aurora opened an amusement park, "Electric Park", to the public to primarily promote travel on the fledgling Railway. Electric Park quickly became a popular vacation spot.

Lavish gardens flanking the banks of the DuPage River, as well as athletic grounds, a bandstand, a dance pavilion, a 5,000-seat auditorium featuring a large pipe organ, restaurants, a waterslide, bowling alley and passenger paddle boats.

The resort attracted vacationers who relaxed in cabins featuring electric, gas, and water service. But the railroad succumbed to financial difficulties in 1923, a victim of the automobile, and Electric Park did not open for the 1924 season.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.