The Devil In The White City #3

The Chicago World Fair changed America in a lot of ways. One of the biggest things was that people’s idea of America had changed a lot. They now knew what we could be able to accomplish and the boundaries we were willing to push in order to be the best. The World Fair was the first large scale fair in America, and the previous fairs that were in France. For many centuries after, we were accomplished by building the amazing fair and made a huge profit, the view of America basically changed permanently for many people, especially people who were able to visit the fair. The Chicago World Fair provided us with a place to show of marvels: large buildings/structures, eclectic exhibits like Egypt, and also showed a lot of our values. A large part of the marvels at this particular fair was the Ferris wheel, the biggest in the world. It was said that nearly 46 people could fit into one of the seating areas, which were basically the size of a small house. We should off a great deal of our culture, but of other cultures as well. We showed off things from different countries like Germany, Egypt, Italy, and this showed that we wanted people to realize what America could do and also what other countries did. As a country it also showed of achievements of other places as well. The World Fair started a restoration of people’s wants and morals. The people that went to the fair and what they said about the fair was extremely influential to some people. A big thing that changed was fashion and women were started to dress with new styles and changing from the modern morays of the time. People began expanding their palate, with eating foods from other countries, which were available at the fair. Something that Chicago wanted to do is show that the architecture they created and built was works of art, not just paintings and sculptures. Another big part of the fair was the numerous inventions that were created just for the fair. Things like the Ferris wheel, which I mentioned earlier, and showed off our uses of electricity with incandescent light bulbs, and a structure created out of the light which was timed with music. People could also see these inventions and potentially change the way that they lived with things like, electric incubators for eggs, the “moving sidewalk”, laundry machines, etc.. But the marvel of inventions was Thomas Edison’s Kaleidoscope. This showed moving pictures and was created to draw in tourists and make an even larger profit for the fair. Also around the fair you could pay special photographers to take photos for you since you were not permitted to take photographs yourself. The fair was influential to many as well as inspirational. Many architects were realizing that they could become famous and make a living off something that they were talented at and loved to do. These architects were able to show off their skills to the public and citizens of Chicago and tourists were able to see these wonders for only a few cents, which was the cost to get into the fair. They had the ability to interact with new inventions and experience new things. By doing this they helped stimulate the economy and spread different types architecture, music, and art and helped others accept other cultures.