The fair gave many people the chance to see things for the first time like the zipper, instant pancake mix, juicy fruit gum, Cracker Jack, and an all-electric kitchen (pg 247). All of these new inventions were showcased at the fair making the fair the start of the technological expansion.The World’s Columbian Exposition can be seen as the start of the entertainment expansion of America. The fair was the begin of the realization that people could make money by selling experience. Because of the fair people begin to pay for movies and entertainment (class discussion December 7). The greenery of the fair had influenced many people, which later transformed into the creation of ballparks and the college football stadiums of Harvard and Yale. The fair created a vast expansion of technology and entertainment around America that can still be seen to-day at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney’s father worked at the fair so I think it’s safe to say that his amusement parks were inspired by the World’s Columbian Exposition. One might compare the ideas of the Midway to the ideas of…
Although the Chicago World's fair of 1893 only lasted 6 months, I had an enormous impact on the city of Chicago, its people, and indeed the entire country. Up until that point in its history, the US had done nothing on the scale of the world's fair, and was regarded as a country of barbarians and cowboys by much of the world, especially Old Europe. The fair was a perfect way for the US to disprove this. In building the fair, they would be placed in direct competition with France, who had built a magnificent fair only a few years before. If Chicago could at least build a fair on par with the Paris fair, it would prove to the world that the US was a cultural, military and political force to be reckoned with. Because of the fair's gigantic scale, it became a microcosm of the conflicts and the tenor of the times.…
In John Kasson’s 1978 novel “Amusing the Million”, he presents Coney Island as a revolutionary tool used as an escape from the post-World War One industrialized society. He demonstrates how the genteel culture strived to keep society in control and in order, but was overtaken by the likes Coney Island and other culture shocks. In my opinion, Coney Island was much more than just an amusement park or just an escape for pleasure. It was a symbol for a new cultural order. This paved the way for centuries to come. This is shown by how Coney Island reflected this emerging industrial society, in the differences and similarities in social structure, and how Coney Island represented an escape for all citizens.…
As time and different ethnic groups pass by, America is transforming and shaping their definition of American culture. So far, America went through the change of becoming more urban and industrial. With society that’s focused on industries, leisure and fun was a rare thing to think about. Soon enough, Coney Island emerges to serve as an escapade from the strict genteel order. Kasson argues the fact that Coney Island was more than an amusement park, it was known as the visualization of the new American culture, straying away from the Victorian Genteel order, at the turn of the century.…
Since the fair was introduced, the reader could predict the immensity and great work of this attraction. Not only were many new inventions created, but also many ideas were inspired by this fair. Because of the great success and its original ideas, I believe that the World’s Fair “had a powerful and lasting impact on [Chicago’s, the world’s and] the nation’s psyche.”…
As the City began to develop parks and greenspaces they created a Public Parks Board to administer how these parks were developed. Central Park was one of four parks originally acquired by the Board who called them “ornamented squares or breathing spaces”. Central Park was the most urban and came to be the most popular park of the…
In the first chapters of “Amusing the Million” by John F. Kasson, he discusses how American culture was before Coney Island and how it changed once Coney was developed. The culture before the idea of amusement parks, some would say is very strict. American apostles of culture believed that every action has to have a purpose. Kasson describes it as, “all activities both in work and in leisure should be ultimately constructive. Hard work improved the individual as well as society...Leisure,too, should be spent not on idleness but in edifying activities”( Kasson 4). This means that this…
In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World; the 1893 Chicago World’s Exposition was a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his ‘discovery’ of the New World (the Americas). After winning hosting rights, Chicago used the fair to show the world that it had risen from the ashes of the devastating 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Jackson Park served as the six-month exposition’s venue and Daniel Burnham was the lead architect that supervised the design and planning of the exposition’s major buildings. These temporary neoclassical “buildings that were made from wood frame wrapped In staff, a plaster mixture that gave the illusion of stone” were referred to as the White City because they were painted white (Bolotin et al. ……..).…
In 1893 the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, took place in Chicago, Illinois. The fair was in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. The Columbian Exposition was four times larger than the previous world’s fair, and over the six months that it was open, 27 million people visited the fair. That was almost half of the US population at that time. The White City, named because most of the buildings were painted white and gleamed with electric lights, the Chicago World’s Fair was home to the first and largest Ferris wheel ever built. With over 200 buildings on the 60-acre land, 43 states and 47 countries represented, and…
Everyday items taken for granted; the zipper, fluorescent lights, dishwashers, and spray paint. All of these were unveiled to the world at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The Columbian Exposition, also called the Chicago World’s Fair, was a place of many firsts. Some were good, and some were necessary evils. Planned advancements were that of technology and inventions. Contrasting areas of development such as architecture were surprising, as no one knew how magnificent and cutting-edge the city would become. On the other hand of things, America’s first serial killer came to fruition during the height of the fair, gaining us an insight to the psyche of a whole other mental state of killers. During the few months of this extravagant fair, which…
American culture had a slow steady start, and for a while it seemed as though it would remain that way. This was until an island on the coast of New York changed American culture and society. This island was called Coney Island. What was Coney Island and what did it bring to the Americans? It was an island that fulfilled the changing wants of American’s. This island influenced American’s wants from labor, and high society to leisure. Though the island didn’t remain on its all-time-high forever, it caused a “turn of the century.” This “turn of the century,” was a vast shift in the mass culture of America.…
When Walt Disney was dreaming about the construction of Disneyland, America was becoming the strongest military force in the world. After WWII, there were many “booms” occurring in America, including economy boom, suburb boom, and baby boom. These three booms set a perfect era for the creation of Disneyland. The economic boom came because the government conducted construction of interstate highways and schools. The economic growth further accelerated as the government also spent more money on military, which advanced goods like airplanes and computers. This growth in the economy gave confidence to middle class people and allowed them to spend money to travel and enjoy family time. Because more people were able to pay for leisure activities,…
fortunate if he or she had a bike to ride or a doll to play with. Today, children expect their…
Central Park was landscaped so people can escape the city and its problems. Throughout out the years, Central Park was able to do so. With its curvy walkways and paved streets, one can seem to…
Yes,there was a variety of parks and attractions, each with a different approach to drawing crowds and showing them a good time. That are Cultural and Education Parks; Outdoor Amusement Park; Theme Parks were generally family-oriented entertainment complexes that were built around a theme;Water Theme Parks. That means theme is equal to brand.…