More specifically, it marks the exact spot of the fair's administration building. So yeah, this statue, sitting in the middle of this quiet, empty park, marks the actual site of the Columbian Exposition's fair grounds. This statue is named 'The Republic', and the Columbian Exposition was ostensibly held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' "discovery" of the "New World". See the little gondola with the tiny people in it near the bottom? Yeah, so the original would have been. You can see from this old photograph, taken in 1893, that the original statue must have been more than twice the height as this reproduction one.
It's a recreation of the gold-covered original that used to stand very close to this spot, in a giant-size reflecting pool. But according to this history book, there's supposed to be a monument around here someplace. Okay, here we are in Jackson Park, and so far. It was a huge event, let's go see what's left of it, let's see if any of it's still there. Here we are looking a bit southward now, and off in the distance - right there - that's where the Columbian Exposition was held, in Jackson Park. The fact that nobody seems to remember it - I mean, even most people who live in Chicago never heard of it - that only makes me all the more curious to find out how something so big and so important could have disappeared from public memory. during the late 19th century, and it had a profound impact on the course of American history.
I mean, yeah, I know we're about a hundred years too late and of course the Exposition is long gone, but that world's fair was one of the most important events in the U.S. Bunny and I are here in Chicago to look for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. This is Pinky, coming to you from the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
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