Devil in the White City Blog 3

The Chicago worlds fair was a grand array of numerous attractions and exhibits showing the wonders of many nations all across the globe. In all honesty, I have never previously heard of the fair before reading The Devil in the White City, but as I read on and learned from research the more I have seen things remaining that were established during the fair. The Ferris Wheel, Jackson Park, aquariums and Japanese architecture were all developed at the fair remaining forever a part of history. Many of these things made for the fair have resided with our culture, such as Jackson Park, the Ferris wheel or aquariums. The fair was the birthplace of many things that are common to our culture today and received a huge success at the fair for being unique and never before seen to the naked eye. People such as Thomas Edison, Walt Disney’s’ father, Walt Disney himself and Susan B. Anthony were among those who were influenced by the fair. Many got to display their inventions at the world’s fair, such as Thomas Edison who educated people on the use of electricity.
The Ferris wheel can be described as the most famous piece of the World’s Fair being that most people can identify what a Ferris wheel is. The Ferris wheel is seen in most, if not all, carnivals and fairs today and, unbeknownst to most people, was the biggest and mostly widely remembered part of the fair. The aquarium is another widely known invention of the World’s Fair. Although not invented at the fair, the aquarium introduced people to the idea that fish were not just to be viewed as another product from the grocery store. The aquarium allowed for people to see the majesty and beauty of fish, sharks and even a whale. This instilled in the people of America that not everything that we eat is just to be seen as dinner, but also that it should be appreciated and not taken for granted. Jackson Park, seen before the fair as a wasteland of brush and swamp is now embraced for its once holding of the World’s Fair. The main manufacturers building still stands in Jackson park today as a symbol of what place and influence that the fair had on the history of contemporary culture and society.
The fair invited great minds from all regions of the world to come and lend their inventive ideas to the structure, exhibits and aesthetics of the fair. Walt Disney’s father, Elias Disney, was inspired by the fair to create his imaginative dream of Disney Land; Walt Disney even modeled Magic Kingdom after the glorious World’s Fair. Thomas Edison attributed to the many lamps and lights of the fair, showing people the way of the future and displaying his fine creation of electricity, that without I could not write this blog with. Women were also influenced by the fair as they viewed women of different cultures belly dancing in risqué outfits; this dancing opened the door for women who wanted to have more freedom among men. The World’s Fair had this effect on many people who visited or even hearing about it recently and will forever remain apart of U.S. history.