World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition (the official shortened name for the World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, also known as The Chicago World's Fair and Chicago Columbian Exposition) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The iconic centerpiece of the Fair, the large water pool, represented the long voyage Columbus took to the New World. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St. Louis for the honor of hosting the fair. The Exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on architecture, sanitation, the arts, Chicago's self-image, and American industrial optimism.

The layout of the Chicago Columbian Exposition was, in large part, designed by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux Arts principles of design, namely French neoclassical architecture principles based on symmetry, balance, and splendor. Many prominent architects designed its 14 "great buildings". Artists and musicians were featured in exhibits and many also made depictions and works of art inspired by the exposition.

Louisiana Purchase Exposition

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. Historians generally emphasize the prominence of themes of race and empire, and the Fair's long-lasting impact on intellectuals in the fields of history, art history, architecture and anthropology. From the point of view of the memory of the average person who attended the fair, it primarily promoted entertainment, consumer goods and popular culture.

Background

In 1904, St. Louis hosted a World's Fair to celebrate the centennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. It was delayed from a planned opening in 1903 to 1904, to allow for full-scale participation by more states and foreign countries. The Fair opened April 30, 1904, and closed December 1, 1904. St. Louis had held an annual St. Louis Exposition since the 1880s as agricultural, trade, and scientific exhibitions, but this event was not held in 1904, due to the World's Fair.

1964 New York World's Fair

The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as an "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding", dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe"; American companies dominated the exposition as exhibitors. The theme was symbolized by a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called the Unisphere. The fair ran for two six-month seasons, April 22 – October 18, 1964 and April 21 – October 17, 1965. Admission price for adults (13 and older) was $2 in 1964 (equivalent to $15.26 in 2016) but $2.50 in 1965, and $1 for children (2–12) both years (equivalent to $7.63 in 2016).

The fair is best remembered as a showcase of mid-20th-century American culture and technology. The nascent Space Age, with its vista of promise, was well represented. More than 51 million people attended the fair, though fewer than the hoped-for 70 million. It remains a touchstone for New York–area Baby Boomers, who visited the optimistic fair as children before the turbulent years of the Vietnam War, cultural changes, and increasing struggles for civil rights.

1939 New York World's Fair

The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the 1,216 acres (492 ha) of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair), was the second most expansive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people attended its exhibits in two seasons. The NYWF of 1939–1940 was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of "Dawn of a New Day", and it allowed all visitors to take a look at "the world of tomorrow". According to the official New York World's Fair pamphlet:

To its visitors the Fair will say: "Here are the materials, ideas, and forces at work in our world. These are the tools with which the World of Tomorrow must be made. They are all interesting and much effort has been expended to lay them before you in an interesting way. Familiarity with today is the best preparation for the future.

Chicago (Michael Jackson song)

"Chicago" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The song was originally recorded during the Invincible recording sessions under the name "She Was Lovin' Me". A reworked version of the song was included in Jackson's posthumous album Xscape.

It was first revealed that "Chicago" would be the first release from the Xscape album. However, plans changed and "Love Never Felt So Good" became the debut release instead.

Release

The song was released on May 5, 2014 on Sony Entertainment Network as a promotional single for promoting Xscape.

Remix

The song's "Papercha$er Remix" was made available for select Sony customers through Xperia Lounge and Music Unlimited as Track 9 of the standard edition.

Charts

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References

Chicago (album)

Chicago (sometimes referred to as Chicago II) is the second studio album by Chicago-based American rock band Chicago. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority following the release of their same-titled debut album the previous year.

History

Although the official title of the album is Chicago, it came to be retroactively known as Chicago II, keeping it in line with the succession of Roman numeral-titled albums that officially began with Chicago III in 1971.

While The Chicago Transit Authority was a success, Chicago is considered by many to be Chicago's breakthrough album, yielding a number of Top 40 hits, including "Make Me Smile" (#9), "Colour My World" (#7), and "25 or 6 to 4" (#4). The centerpiece of the album was the thirteen-minute song cycle "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon". Guitarist Terry Kath also participated in an extended classically styled cycle of four pieces, three of which were co-written by the well-known, arranger, composer, and pianist Peter Matz. The politically outspoken keyboardist Robert Lamm also tackles his qualms with "It Better End Soon", another modular piece. Bassist Peter Cetera, later to play a crucial role in the band's music, contributed his first song to Chicago and this album, "Where Do We Go From Here".

Nickel Plate Depot (Chicago)

The passenger depot of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) in Chicago, Illinois was located at the northwest corner of Roosevelt Road (12th Street) and Clark Street, just east of the main line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to its LaSalle Street Station. Between 1897 and 1928, the Nickel Plate became a tenant at LaSalle, which it continued to use until its passenger service was abandoned. The station was three blocks west of Roosevelt (CTA station) which originally served urban rapid transit lines such as the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad and Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. Today, the site of the station is occupied by a Target department store franchise.

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