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Like the symbols, logos, and mascots of more recent fairs and major events like the
Olympic Games, the "I Will" maiden was omnipresent. While the motto on her chest and
the bird on her head gave her an specific point of reference, she was part of the long
tradition of representations of the city and the nation, as well as such civic abstractions as
Justice and Law, as a pure and beautiful, if stern, young woman. Other examples include
Edward Armitage's painting of figures representing England and America coming to fallen
Chicago's aid (see the Blazing Visions gallery in the Fanning the Flames chapter), not to mention Frederic-Auguste
Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty, which had been unveiled in New York harbor in 1886. This
kind of symbolism ennobled Chicago's history, particularly the fire and the rebuilding, as
an unqualified triumph of character and determination.
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Columbian Carnival 