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When the Columbian Exposition shut its gates at the end of October (closing ceremonies were
curtailed because of the assassination of Mayor Carter Harrison), there was much
discussion of what to do with the exhibition buildings that had been the source of so much
local pride. Since they were built mainly out of plaster of Paris and were meant only to last
the summer, any plan to extend their life would be difficult and expensive. The onset of
the Panic of 1893 made it additionally unlikely that the fairgrounds could be preserved. A
sadly ironic reprise of 1871 settled the matter. At the beginning of January a fire, perhaps
started accidentally or out of spite by one of the city's unemployed and homeless,
destroyed much of the Court of Honor. Some of this damage, hauntingly reminiscent of
pictures of the post-fire city, is seen in the bottom image, while above is a similar view by
photographer C.D. Arnold of the White City at the height of its glory. In both cases the
view is looking east. In the foreground is the sixty-five-foot statue of The Republic by
Daniel Chester French, who later was the sculptor for the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington.
The rest of the buildings were sold to a salvage company, but on the evening of July 5, at
the height of the Pullman Strike, a second and much larger fire consumed what was left.
One description of the burning of the Administration Building recalls the last moments of
the Courthouse bell in 1871: "There was
a sort of shifting motion around the base of the dome and then the monster dream in gold
and white tottered, stood still for an instant, and then shut up as if it were a huge
accordion." Among the last of the statuary to fall was Bitter's "Fire Controlled."
The Palace of Fine Arts, at the north end of the fairgrounds and some distance from the
Court of Honor, was spared, and after major renovation became the current Museum of
Science and Industry.
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Columbian Carnival 