<img src="https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:gmd:gmd410:g4104:g4104c:ct002834/full/pct:12.5/0/default.jpg" height="500" width="500" alt="image of a map from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair">
Photo Credit: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104c.ct002834/
As a Chicago native, you’re excited about the opportunity to visit the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 (aka the Columbian Exposition). The event introduced many iconic foods to American culture, and you plan to sample the offerings throughout the day. You want this visit to be multi-sensory. What does something groundbreaking TASTE like? [[Click here to begin your journey...]]Before you start your tour, you decide you’re hungry and in need of some breakfast. You are given the choice between Cream of Wheat or Pancakes with Aunt Jemima syrup, both brands were introduced to the World at the Fair. Choose either “[[Cream of Wheat]] or [[Pancakes with Aunt Jemima Syrup]]”<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Cream_of_Wheat_old_cereal_box.jpg" height="350" width="221" alt="Image of an old Cream of Wheat box, circa 1919">
Photo credit: An old Cream of Wheat box, circa 1919: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_of_Wheat#/media/File:Cream_of_Wheat_old_cereal_box.jpg
Cream of Wheat was patented as the first "‘cookless breakfast food.'" The African American representative was commonly called “Rastus,” a racist, debasing term for black men. It is generally believed that Frank White acted as the model. His image first appeared beginning in the 1920s while its removal was announced September 27, 2020. [[Click here to continue your tour]]... <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Aunt_Jemima_-_America%27s_Best-Loved_Pancakes%2C_1951.jpg" height="536.5" width="811.5" alt="Image of Aunt Jemima - America's Best-Loved Pancakes, 1951">
Photo credit: Aunt Jemima - Ladies' Home Journal, January 1951, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Aunt_Jemima#/media/File:Aunt_Jemima_-_America's_Best-Loved_Pancakes,_1951.jpg
Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix: As the first self-rising pancake mix, Aunt Jemima premiered at the world’s fair with the titular character represented by actress Nancy Green, a formerly enslaved woman. In 1989, protests regarding the characterization of Aunt Jemina, Quaker Oats changed her appearance, giving her pearl earrings and a lace collar. After decades of concern and outrage about the character, the company no longer uses her image as of 2020. [[Click here to continue your tour]]... After breakfast, you decide to check out the exhibit on the first ever dishwashing machine! Invented by Josephine Cochrane, this hand-powered device won the prize for “best mechanical construction, durability, and adaptation to its line of work.”
<img src="https://www.kidsdiscover.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Josephine_Cochrane.jpg" height="473" width="630" alt="Image of the first dishwasher machine">
Photo citation: https://www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/meet-the-woman-who-invented-the-automatic-dishwasher/
Then, you decide to check out a concert by Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime.
<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Scott_Joplin_19072.jpg" height="520" width="400" alt="Image of the Scott Joplin">
Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_Joplin_19072.jpg
[[Continue on your tour...]]Afterwards, you realize it is time for lunch, and you are famished. You can pick between a Vienna Beef hot dog or a spicy Mexican tamale.
Do you feel like a [[hotdog]] or a [[tamale]]?<img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/05/21/vienna%20beef-s800-c85.jpeg" height="600" width="800" alt="Image of Old Vienna Booth at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893">
Photo Credit: www.npr.org/local/309/2019/05/22/725421470/from-vienna-beef-to-p-b-r-five-food-and-drink-legacies-of-the-1893-world-s-fair
Austro-Hungarian brothers-in-law Emil Reichel and Samuel Ladany sold beef sausages with mustard and onions at “Old Vienna.” After the success of the hotdog at the World’s Fair, Reichel and Ladany opened up the Vienna Sausage Company as hot dogs grew more popular during the Great Depression.
Don't forget the condiments! [[Click here to continue]]H.J. Heinz had trouble attracting people to his stand, because it was far away from the main traffic of the main exhibit hall. To fix this issue, Heinz sent children to give out gold tags to people on the first floor of the main exhibition hall to entice them to come visit their booth on the second floor. Those people left with a small green pickle charm—later transformed into a “pickle pin.”
<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Heinz_pickle_pins.jpg" height="554" width="768" alt="Image of Heinz pickle pin given out at the Chicago World's Fair">
Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_pickle_pin
Ready to get back to the fair? [[Let's keep going]]<img src="https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/ohYW5CY_Qviw6Ob4sgvcen0GCHQ=/fit-in/1072x0/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/e6/e3/e6e3ff23-9529-427c-9d85-7b76f8ba3cda/1893-worlds-fair-sidewalk-sm.jpg" height="308" width="550" alt="First moving sidewalk">
Photo Credit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/moving-sidewalks-before-the-jetsons-17484942/
The first electric moving sidewalk was built for the fair and cost a nickel! Visitors could sit on a bench while experiencing the ride. Unfortunately, while you were riding the moving sidewalk, it broke down (as it was prone to do) so you had to walk the remaining distance, which built up an appetite!
What do you pick for a snack?
[[Cracker Jacks]] or a [[freshly baked brownie]]?<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Cracker_jack_newspaper_ad_1916.png" height="982" width="844" alt="Cracker Jack ad">
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cracker_jack_newspaper_ad_1916.png
The popularity of Cracker Jack probably stemmed more from the 1908 song, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” which featured the line, “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I ever go back.” At least, according to some scholars like Professor Bill Savage of Northwestern University—who doesn’t believe the product was even at the world’s fair.
[[Continue here...]] <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Brownie_dessert_%2843110731564%29.jpg" height="354.5" width="529" alt="Brownie">
Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Brownie_dessert_%2843110731564%29.jpg
Bertha Palmer of The Palmer House commissioned the first brownie though Pastry Chef Joseph Sehl likely whipped it up. She wanted “a new dessert that would be easy to box and transport.” The hotel today continues to offer this delicious treat made with the original recipe.
[[Continue here...]]<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Original_Ferris.jpeg" height="296" width="400" alt="First Ferris wheel">
Photo credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_Wheel
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., the designer, introduced the first Ferris Wheel ride at the 1893 fair. 264 ft. tall, the ride could hold up to 2,160 people and took 10-20 minutes to make two revolutions.
[[Next]] <img src="https://assets.atlasobscura.com/article_images/58837/image.jpg" height="600" width="800" alt="Pot of tamales">
Photo credit: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tamale-history
Mexican tamales were introduced at the 1893 World's Fair to the masses in Chicago. Tamales are pastries with a filling (cheese, meat, salsa) and enclosed in a cornmeal dough. Wrapped in corn husk, they are steamed and served hot with salsa and hot sauce. According to historian Gustavo Arellano, "as more and more Americans were moving West into what had previously been Mexican territory. There, they encountered cheap, filling tamales, and they liked them."
[[Let's keep going]] After eating so many treats, and riding the rides, you feel a bit sick and are ready to head home. But you plan on returning soon, since the Columbian Exposition lasts from May 1, 1893 through October 30, 1893.
[[Citations]]Sources:
Arnold, C. D. Higinbotham, H. D. Official Views of the World's Columbian Exposition/Press. Chicago: Photo-Gravure Co., 1893. https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/05/22/725421470/from-vienna-beef-to-p-b-r-five-food-and-drink-legacies-of-the-1893-world-s-fair.
Chicago Loop Alliance. “Bertha Palmer’s Chocolate Brownie: The Hidden Gem of Chicago.” March 2019. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://loopchicago.com/in-the-loop/bertha-palmers-chocolate-brownie-the-hidden-gem-of-chicago/.
Ewbank, Anne. “A Short History of America’s ‘Tamale Wars.’” Atlas Obscura. Published August 31, 2018. Updated September 4, 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tamale-history.
Fazio, Marie. “Cream of Wheat to Drop Black Chef From Packaging, Company Says.” September 27, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/business/cream-of-wheat-man.html.
“Final Tribute for Cream of Wheat Man.” CBS. June 15, 2007. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/final-tribute-for-cream-of-wheat-man/.
H.J. Heinz Co. Booth at the World’s Columbian Exposition Chicago, Illinois, 1893. The Henry Ford. 53.41.986. Gift of H.J. Heinz Company. Copyright The Henry Ford.
Heinze, Hermann, A. Zeese & Co, and World's Columbian Exposition. Souvenir map of the World's Columbian Exposition at Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance, Chicago, Ill, U.S.A. 1893 [map]. Chicago: A. Zeese & Co., Engravers, 1892. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010587004/.
Heinz Pickle Charm, 1893-1910. The Henry Ford. 53.41.2178.14. Gift of H.J. Heinz Company. Copyright The Henry Ford.
“Here’s the Recipe for the First-Ever Brownie, Invented in Chicago,” Chicago Magazine. October 12, 2016. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/November-2016/Palmer-House-Brownie-recipe/.
Hsu, Tiffany. “Quaker to Change Aunt Jemina Name and Image Over ‘Racial Stereotype’.” The New York Times. Published June 17, 2020. Updated September 27, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/business/media/aunt-jemima-racial-stereotype.html. The Henry Ford. “Heinz Pickle Charm, 1893-1910.” Collections and Research. https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/89507/#slide=gs-307383.
Nagasawa, Katherine. “From Vienna Beef to PBR: Five Food and Drink Legacies of the 1893 World’s Fair.” NPR. May 22, 2019. https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/05/22/725421470/from-vienna-beef-to-p-b-r-five-food-and-drink-legacies-of-the-1893-world-s-fair.
Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center. 2018. Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (blog). “How the Dishwasher Has Changed Our World.” January 31. Image. https://uakc.net/blog/dishwasher-changed-world/.
“White's likeness on the Cream of Wheat box.” Accessed October 4, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_L._White.
Phil Gold. “Who knew a tasty tamale could prove so deadly?” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tamale-history.
Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Brownie_dessert_%2843110731564%29.jpg.
Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Cracker_jack_newspaper_ad_1916.png.
Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heinz_pickle_pins.jpg.
Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October, 4, 2020. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Original_Ferris.jpeg.
Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scott_Joplin_19072.jpg.Wikimedia Commons. Accessed October 4, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Wharf,_Moving_Sidewalk.PNG.
Zeldas, Leah. 2013. Diningchicago.com (blog). “Chicago Mixed It Up at World’s Columbian Exposition.” Dining Chicago. June 20. http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2013/06/20/chicago-mixed-it-up-at-worlds-columbian-exposition/.