Chicago World’s Fair – 120th anniversary – Lighting use of AC – first night time football game

Chicago World’s Fair (aka World's Columbian Exposition): May 1^st 1893 to October 9^th 1893 (via Chicago History Museum/Getty images)

Just imagine - Walking in Chicago in Oct 9, 1893. Over 100,000 glowing glass spheres shining the orange warm light of incandescent bulbs on neo-classical white stucco buildings in the darkness of the city on the last day of the Chicago World’s Fair. On this day, once called Chicago Day, over 750,000 people visited the fair, more than any other that had been hosted before. The fair, also known as the Columbian Exposition to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus, began on the first day of May that same year and proved to be one of the most influential events not only in the US but also all over the world.

The exhibitions hosted by the fair displayed many firsts for the world. The “Chicago Wheel,” now known as the Ferris Wheel, made its debut six weeks into the fair, a delay caused by indecision of the event’s organizers, but clearly successful when activated.

Along with it were phosphorescent lamps (precursor to fluorescents), cracker jack, juicy fruit gum, quaker oats, shredded wheats and the hamburger. Ottomar Anschutz demonstrated his electrotachyscope he made using a Geissler Tube that shined light through transparent photographs to create an illusion of motion.

Women's Building at the Chicago World's Fair (via MIT)

Sophie Hayden, MIT graduate and architect, designed the 80,000 sq. ft. Women’s Building at the fair, but was paid about 1/10th of the salary of a male architect.

Milton Hershey, founder of the popular chocolate manufacturer, first bought machinery to make German chocolate from the J.M. Lehmann Co. after seeing it in use at the fair. 

In 1882, Thomas Edison lit the streets of New York City using his newly invented DC power stations. However, the technology was inefficient, needing lots of copper wiring and power stations every mile because direct current dissipated quickly over long lengths of wire and produced dangerous amounts of heat.

The following year, in 1883, Nikola Tesla developed the technology that would replace inefficient DC with his invention of an alternating current transformer. This machine allowed the voltage of alternating current to be increased or decreased in a controlled manner wherever it was needed. For this reason, AC could be delivered across long distances, required many fewer power stations and much less wiring, and generated less heat.

Chicago World's Fair at night. Showcasing all AC run lights (vvia Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942)

When it was time for the Chicago World’s Fair, Edison and his business partner J.P. Morgan offered to power and light the event for $ 1.8 million, an amount that was quickly turned down. So the ambitious duo found ways to cut back the cost to $554,000. But, it was the inefficiencies of their system that would lose them their bid. When Tesla and his partner George Westinghouse offered to electrify the fair for just $399,000, organizers agreed. This contract led to the first fully electrically powered fair, the feat that would help prove that their AC current was far superior for powering towns, cities and nations.

On opening day, President Grover Cleveland ignited 100,000 incandescent lamps by pressing a single button. Author Erik Larson described the sight as “getting a sudden vision of Heaven.” Chicago became known as “The White City” and “The City of Lights,” but Larson called it a “dreamland.”

AC (Alternating Current) current, which was prominently showcased throughout the fairgrounds, ran off a series of two-phase induction generators that were invented by Nikola Tesla. While the fair itself was designed to showcase the American industrial revolution to the world, it was AC that stole the show as it was the first fair to be illuminated by the electric light (the first night time football game was played at the fair). Actually Westinghouse won the contract bid to supply the fair with AC current over General Electric’s (backed by Thomas Edison) DC bid which the latter became furious and banned the use of Edison lamps to light the fair.

Hall of Machinery at the Chicago World's Fair

Because Edison refused to let Tesla and Westinghouse use his light bulbs, Westinghouse invented a new design for the bulbs surrounding the 600 acres of fair. 200 temporary buildings, holding exhibitions made by 50,000 contributors from 46 nations, could be enjoyed at night along with canals and lagoons. All of it was powered using 12 one-thousand-horsepower AC polyphase generators that were displayed in the “Hall of Machinery”, one of the most popular exhibits. The fair consumed three times more electricity than the entire city. 

Throughout the six month event, 27 million people attended, each paying 50 cents (equivalent to about $12 today). As 80% of the country and most of the world accepted alternating current as their form of distributing electricity, the planet and humanity had been profoundly changed. These technological fruits of this era remain all around us, 120 year later.