Columbian Exposition

Columbian Exposition

In 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago's Jackson Park. This elaborate fair observed the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. But Chicago also staged the fair to draw attention to the city's accomplishments. The fair's chief architect was Daniel H. Burnham, who later laid out several of Chicago's major streets.

Chicagoans bragged so much about the Columbian Exposition that Charles A. Dana, a New York City newspaper editor, nicknamed Chicago the Windy City. The howling gusts that blow across the city from Lake Michigan have helped make the nickname last.

Excerpt adapted from the "Chicago" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999