1983 World's Fair
World’s Faire
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World’s Faire held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World since 1492. The iconic centerpiece of the Fair is the large water pool that represented the long voyage Columbus took to the New World. Nourishment and refreshments were a crucial part of World’s fair with nearly 1.5 miles of lunch counters scattered throughout the park. Options ranged from cold meats and pies at the counters to $2 (around $48 dollars in modern days) Porterhouse steaks at the fancier Great White Horse Inn. Meanwhile, restaurants like the Hungarian Orpheum and the Turkish Village served beer that earned the “blue ribbon” title. Popcorn was also popularized at the World’s fair. Cotton candy also made its first debut at the World’s faire, which was called “fairy floss” back then. The 1893 World Faire also led to the popularization of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. The iconic beverage earned its title when it earned the Gold Medal for Brewing Excellence. The Exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on architecture, food, the arts, Chicago's self-image, and American industrial optimism.
I like how you talked about the World Faire and its popularity among the people. I found it interesting to learn about the inventions of different foods that we now find very common and ordinary. I found the World Faire exposition to be very influential in social and cultural history of the United States.
ReplyDeleteThank you for shining light on an interesting event in History. I think it's especially fascinating that World Faires were in a sense, the first sign of international peace to come. These events hosted by different nations and attended by millions across the world started to show a sense of unity that would manifest decades later in the United Nations. Unfortunately, the world would be engulfed in war before that happened.
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ReplyDeleteI found your blog interesting because we spent some time in MEHAP last year learning about the World Faire, specifically the one in Paris. One thing you brought up in your blog was the various new foods and beverages that were popularized in 1893, so I looked into what was popularized in the Paris World Faire of 1889, just 4 years before. I found that some foods that were really popular included oysters and cheese, with 400,000 dozen oysters a day and 100,000 pounds of cheese a week being eaten. Additionally, Heinz Ketchup is popularized after being made in 1869. Another World’s Fair that featured new and exciting foods was the 1904 St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exhibition. While many of the snacks that became popular were reported as being created before 1904, hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream cones, banana splits, iced tea, Dr Pepper, and peanut butter were all popularized and spread throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteSources: http://gearpatrol.com/2015/07/03/the-epic-food-of-the-1904-worlds-fair/
http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/foods-of-the-worlds-fairs