Palace of Fine Building, Field Columbia Museum, Museum of Science and Industry
Architect: C. B. Atwood, Chicago, Illinois
Area:
Cost: $
Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
THE ART PALACE.—No structure among the many which made up the White City commanded more universal admiration than did the Art Palace, wherein were displayed the triumphs of artists from all over the world. It was a fitting receptacle for its marvelous displays. The style of architecture adapted in the building was of the Grecian-Ionic order and the blending and adaptation of what was most perfect in the past was such as to secure an effect, if not in the exact sense original, at least of great harmony and grandeur. The area of the main structure is three hundred and twenty by five hundred feet. It is intersected by a nave with a transept one hundred feet wide and seventy feet high, and a central dome sixty feet wide and one hundred feet high surmounted by a winged figure of Victory. The main structure is surrounded by a gallery forty feet in width. It has two annexes one hundred and twenty by two hundred feet in dimensions, each with exterior colonnades. Because of the enormous value of the statues and paintings exhibited—the buildings’ contents were estimated to be worth five million dollars—it was necessary to make the Art Palace fire-proof and it was so built, at a cost of six hundred thousand dollars. It so remains a permanent structure and is now occupied by the Field Columbian Museum, one of the great Fair’s heritages to the public. The view of the building from the lagoon on the south, from the broad highway on the north and the areas of lawn in other directions are such as to afford a just idea of its excelling beauty. It stands today without peer a triumph of architecture.
THE WESTERN ENTRANCE TO THE ART PALACE—Some millions of people familiar with the appearance of the great portal shown in the illustration below. The western entrance to the main building of the Art Palace was the popular one. It opened upon the great thoroughfare running north and south along the west side of the Exposition grounds, was close to the popular Fifty-seventh street entrance close also close to the Michigan Building, that structure which, from the liberality and broad national spirit of the representatives of that strong state, became something like a general club house and resting place for everybody. Of the architectural or particularly charming features in any way connected with the entrance itself, there is little to say. It was in tone with the general perfection of that grand structure which, somehow, gradually displayed in other artistic creations by active men of the present day from all over the world. It was the main gateway to what surpassed interiorally in the same degree and in the same manner that it surpassed exteriorally every other exhibit at this most wonderful of expositions. From any point of view the art display at the Exposition caught the drift of hosts to the same extent that its splendid casing caught the eye of the myriads, and there was seldom an hour of the day that this particular entrance was not thronged with people surging in and out of the building.
THE ART PALACE ACROSS THE NORTH LAGOON.— Hardly ever among the pretty vistas afforded by the Columbian Exposition was the effect so beautiful as when aided by the natural scenery which chanced to form an accompaniment. The Fair grounds were located in a park that had been improved by leaving o nature all that nature had accomplished, and the builders of the White City had left bits of the original wildwood here and there, although the most of it had been removed to make way for great buildings, broad thoroughfares, lagoons, lakes and water ways, the like of which artificial construction had never been seen before. In the accompanying picture an accident affords an illustration of what is here described. The view across the North Lagoon is a charming one. The frontage of the great Art Palace, one of the most imposing structures of the age, is such as the eye delights to rest upon unweariedly. The surface of the water, half revealing by reflection the scenes above it, is a charming thing to look upon, but alter all the beauty of the picture is in the delicate tracery of the trunk and limbs and foliage of the tree in the immediate foreground, all of which are so sharply outlined against the sky. The point of view is from somewhere close to the Brazil Building, and looking toward the northwest the great Art Palace, of which too much cannot be said in praise, lies sleeping beautifully across the water. The sky scene is evidently of a day when clouds were lowering. It must have been one of the accidental dull days at the Fair.
INTERIOR OF THE ART PALACE.-This is a general view of the interior of the Art Palace, taken in the west court: German statuary, models and architectural reproduction occupied the floor space in this part of the building, while in the alcoves on each side and in the galleries above were displayed water colors and drawings. The most conspicuous thing in the view here presented is a model of the German Reichstag building, corresponding to the British House of Parliament, or our own Capitol at Washington. This attracted much curious attention, not only because of its beauty of architecture and the artistic work displayed in the reproduction, but also because of the historical interest attaching to the original Surrounding the model on all sides were many noted statues and groups of statuary, the work of the most famous German and Austrian sculptors of the present time and past ages.
Readers who visited this part of the Art Palace will recognize the red and white banner, the miniature pagoda and other characteristic signs which marked the entrance to the Japanes section. They will also remember the representation of a lion displayed there-a most remarkable painting by a Japanese artist, who devoted so much attention to detail that each particular hair was separately painted, and who, in consequence, went crazy over his work. The west court was usually thronged with visitors, as it was at the time the accompanying photograph was taken, as in it were to be found some of the most interesting groups and specimens of art in the whole building.
INTERIOR OF THE ART PALACE—TROCADERO COLLECTION.—The French claim, and it may be justly, to be the successors of the ancient Greeks in the art of sculpture. In their section of the Art Palace the display was superb. The view on this page is a corner of the section, showing a portion or a collection or casts, duplications or the most important reproductions or works shown in the Museum of Comparative Sculpture, in the Trocadero Palace, in Paris. These casts showed portions of the facades or churches and cathedrals, grand portals, beautiful galleries, altars, statues, columns, capitals, etc. They were as perfect as the highest degree of French art and skill can make them, even the time-worn appearance of the originals being faithfully reproduced. These replicas were not reduced in size, and consequently some of them were very large, as will be seen by the specimens shown in the accompanying picture. The largest, perhaps, was a portion of the Church of St. Giles, which was forty-one by twenty-four feet in size. Another piece from the gallery of Limoges Cathedral was twenty by thirty-six feet, and a third from the “Portal of the Virgin,” in Notre Dame, Paris, was eighteen by twenty-five feet. The architectures and sculptures represented in this collection began with the art era of the twelfth century, and were followed down to the seventeenth century era continuously. The French government presented to the American people a large number of these casts, with the understanding that they should be placed in some American art museum.
THE LAGOON IN FRONT OF THE ART PALACE.—It was not a very big sheet of water which lay just south of the Art Palace in the Exposition grounds. It was not imposing in dimensions, though it was by no means small, and it was not such a thoroughfare for launches and gondolas as were other lagoons and connecting straits, but it is doubtful if ever a sheet of water anywhere afforded fairer spectacles or if ever upon one of the same size occurred more pretty incidents of more importance. Here, under the shadow of the most beautiful of structures, was the water resting-place of the Fair. Here, too, was the scene of many various and interesting exploits. From the little platform seen extending out in the right foreground of the picture, were made the tests of the fly throwers among the champion fishermen of the world. Here were made other tests of interest pertaining to the water, and interesting to the world. This lagoon was just aside from the general water thoroughfare between the Grand Basin and the lake, and the drift of travel it caught was but a trifle. Undisturbed by the wayfarer, but most interesting , was the North Lagoon. The photograph reproduced is an almost perfect one. The Illinois Building appears inverted in the water; the flag from the Art Palace dips beneath the waves. The view of the westward is rounded out and and complete. Squarely at the west end or the lagoon stands California Building beyond it, in the far distance, looms up the Ferris Wheel, the haunting monster of the Fair.
The general plan, apart from its decorative features, may be described as that of a continuous series of compartments, flat-roofed, sky-lighted, somewhat less than 50 feet high, and resting on a basement raised nine feet above ground, the entire structure forming an oblong, 500 feet in length by 320 in width, and covering an area of nearly five acres. At the corners are projecting pavilions of similar height, giving accent to the design. The clear stories and roofs over the several courts are fashioned with level sky-lines, and from their central point of intersection rises from a spacious rotunda to an elevation of 125 feet, and with nearly half that diameter, a dome surmounted by Martin’s heroic statue of Fame. The principal entrance-ways, in the centre of each of the main facades, are in the form of porticos, with columns of the Ionic order, and above them are attics, on the pilasters of which are figures resembling those of the temple at Agrigentum. In the middle of the end facades are similar porticos, but on a less imposing scale.
The Art Gallery, Room 34, Germany
World’s Columbian Exposition The Art and Architecture. The Edition of the Republic in Eleven Parts, Printed and Published by George Barrie, Philadelphia
Interior of the Palace of Fine Arts
Palace of Fine Arts at Nigh
Chicago Tribune Supplement
1893
Charles Graham
Palace of Liberal Arts
Chicago Tribune, June 3, 1894
OPENING OF THE MUSEUM.
The Columbian Museum, which has become an accomplished fact, thanks to the liberality of Mr. Marshall Field and other public-spirited citizens, was dedicated to its purposes of use and beauty yesterday and will now remain open to the public every day in the year as a permanent monument of Chicago enterprise and generosity. Its directorship has been in-trusted to Mr. Skiff, who brings skilled intelligence and excellent executive ability, as well as enthusiasm, to the administration of his responsible office. The various departments are in the hands of experts, who, as Mr. Skiff’s lieutenants, will conduct and maintain them upon the highest standards of efficiency.
The organization of these departments has been made scientifically complete. Though little over six months old the museum already stands in a more finished state and more thoroughly equipped than most similar institutions in this country which have been in existence for years. Every department of rec-reation, taste, art, and scientific study is represented by a rich and large display of specimens brought from all parts of the world, and these will be enriched from time to time by further contributions and by purchases of rare objects which have not yet ar-rived. In addition to special departments of art, curios, and memorials of the Fair there are general departments of geology, industrial arts, zoology, anthropology, botany and plant economics, and departments devoted to railroad, steamboat, and other methods of transportation which are thoroughly equipped. In a word, the history of the race and the record of the earth’s evolution in all its forms are presented in the museum arranged with scientific exactness and system, so that the student may see at a glance and study the record of progress, while the uneducated person will find plenty of material to interest and instruct him in this immense collection. To aid in this work and to economize time for the visitor an admirable guide book has been prepared, so arranged that the visitor will have no difficulty in finding not only the special department but even the special object he may wish to examine. It is one of the most noteworthy features of the new mum that it has been placed upon a popular basis and that the trustees and Director Skiff have kept constantly in view the desirability of making it a museum for the people. To this end the daily admission has been placed at a figure within the reach of all. It will always be free to school children. Saturdays, Sundays, and all public holidays it will be free to all. Today will be the first open free day and it goes without saying that if the weather shall be favorable the attendance will be very large. From every point of view it is the people’s museum, and it unquestionably will at once become the most popular resort in the city. It will also stand as a permanent memorial of the great Columbian Exhibition and a reminder of the beautiful White City now rapidly disappearing from view. Many of the treasures of the Fair will be preserved there and can be studied at leisure, free from the crowds and excitements and fatigues of last summer. Then the educational influences of the Columbian Exhibition will be continued and its lessons will not be lost. As a memorial of that exhibition and as a monument of Chicago’s liberality, public spirit, and enterprise, the museum will take a high place among the institutions of the city and add to its attractiveness. There is but one other similar collection in the country which can now compete with it—that of the National Museum at Washington. In many of its departments, however, the Field Columbian Museum already surpasses it. It will not be long before in all departments it will become the first institution of its kind in the country.
Suburbanite Economist, August 30, 1918
War Museum in Jackson Park.
The exhibits of the Field-Columbian museum are being removed from the building in Jackson park that had served as the Arts bulling during the world’s fair, to the new Field-Columbian museum on the lake front at 12th St. It is now proposed to restore the old building in Jackson park by re-coating it with staff or stucco, and making it a war museum. This would be a grand thing, as a war museum is needed in this part of the country, to perpetuate the wars and gallant deeds of our soldiers and sailors in the different wars the country has engaged in, and no better location would be selected than Jackson park, ant a splendid substantial brick building awaits the exhibits, with comparatively small outlay to make it fit. A few years ago it was proposed to preserve the building, and it was estimated that $50,000 would restore it, so the expense would be very trifling considering the importance of the enterprise. We ask that all of the patriotic organizations get behind this enterprise and boost for it. The C.
W. Guenther collection of war relies and arms is already offered and a good start is made for the largest war museum in the world.
The Palace of Fine Arts
1925
The Palace of Fine Arts (also known as the Fine Arts Building) at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition was designed by Charles B. Atwood for D. H. Burnham & Co. Unlike the other “White City” buildings, it was constructed with a brick substructure under its plaster facade. After the World’s Fair, it initially housed the Columbian Museum, which evolved into the Field Museum of Natural History. When a new Field Museum building opened near downtown Chicago in 1921, the museum organization moved and the former site was left vacant.
The new Museum of Science and Industry opened to the public in three stages between 1933 and 1940. The first opening ceremony took place during the Century of Progress Exposition. Two of the Museum’s presidents, a number of curators and other staff members, and exhibits came to MSI from the Century of Progress event.
This building is now the Museum of Science and Industry.
KEY TO INSTALLATION
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This building, which is expressly devoted to the exhibit of fine arts, painting, sculpture and statuary, is divided into four great courts known as the north, south, east and west courts. These lead into a space known as the central dome. Each space for exhibits is indicated by a number in connection with the court in which it is located. In connection with the main building are pavilions located at each corner, where exhibits are also shown an exterior colonnade extending from each pavilion to the north and south courts. The paintings. sculpture and groups of statuary are each indicated in regular numerical order. The location of the exhibit will be found by referring to the name of the exhibitor and then glancing at the diagram. where the court or gallery, containing the exhibit is shown, together with the number of the painting, etc. The exhibits in the loggias, and also on the second floor, are indicated in like manner.
Mike reno says
I have a vase that I’m not sure of its antiquity. My aunt told me it’s from the 1893 worlds fair, she said she thinks it’s from the Malaysian exhibit.
It’s a large vase with a jungle theme with bird sculptures sculpted onto the vase along with flowers. Just trying to figure out its history. Can I send a photo?
Mark says
That last photo is of the South entrance, looking west. Roughly the same perspective as the first photo, but closer — note that in both, the tower of the Michigan Building can be seen in the distance..
Thomas E. Boyd says
Saying what the palace Fine Arts look like, that during the Columbia Fair is amazing. Not knowing that the building that stands today, in Chicago is the Museum of Science and Industry. And the golden statue that wants to end up Pawn, doing the Columbia there is in Jackson Park on Hayes Drive