The 1892 Chicago Fair was a major, successful attempt to put that city on the map. The goal was to out-do the Paris World Fair and that included out-Eiffeling Eiffel and that took the form of the first Ferris Wheel. Of course, it had to come to an end and a huge celebration was scheduled for October 30th,1893. The celebration never took place. The Mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, was shot two days before and the whole event went south. Instead of a grand ending, it was a funeral memorial. Then, much to the chagrin of the organizers, most of it would be torn down. Well, what to do? Most of the buildings were designed to only last for the duration and of 200 original buildings only 2 are still standing in their spots (three others were moved). But the question of demolition became moot thanks to a series of fires (there was one during the Fair), but on this day, 1894, four of the buildings burned to the ground in what was the third fire. In July an even larger fire destroyed most of what was left and that’s what the fire photo is showing. A side note on the Ferris Wheel. People were scared to death to ride in it at first and why not? It looked spindly as hell. And during the first test run to show folks that it was safe, nuts and bolts kept falling on the roofs of the cars as it completed its cycle. Yes. That would instill confidence in the dang thing. It was later moved and not involved in any of the four fires.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:51:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015