From the Midway

From the can of Pabst Blue Ribbon at your neighborhood bar to the moving sidewalks at Midway and O’Hare, so many products that we consume today made their debut at the 1893 World's Fair. Chicago Tribune business reporter Cori Shropshire talked to Russell Lewis, the executive vice president and chief historian at the Chicago History Museum, and Norm Bolotin, author of “The World's Columbian Exposition: The Chicago World's Fair of 1893,” to find out what products were showcased at the fair and the stories behind their creation.

"From the Midway" is a production of the Chicago Tribune. It was created by digital news editor Colleen Connolly. Post-production editing was done by digital news editor Randi Shaffer. The music used in this podcast came from the album “Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” recorded by Lake Forest College.

The 1893 World's Fair is often discussed with pride and awe, but there were parts of it that were downright morally wrong by today's standards. The world villages on the Midway, the heart of the fair, are one example of this. Alaka Wali, curator of North American anthropology at the Field Museum, discusses who and what went into these displays and the evolution of the science of anthropology, which has its American roots in the Midway villages.

"From the Midway" is a production of the Chicago Tribune. It was created by digital news editor Colleen Connolly. Post-production editing was done by digital news editor Randi Shaffer. The music used in this podcast came from the album “Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” recorded by Lake Forest College.

Perhaps the most iconic invention of the 1893 World's Fair, the Ferris wheel was Chicago's answer to Paris' Eiffel Tower, which was built for that city's 1889 fair. Though now ubiquitous, there was just one Ferris wheel in the beginning, and it has a history that stretches back to Galesburg, Illinois. Paul Durica, co-author of “Chicago by Day and Night: The Pleasure-Seeker’s Guide to the Paris of America,” and Jim Ferris, the great-great-nephew of the Ferris wheel's inventor, tell the story of how it was invented and what happened to the original "Chicago Wheel."

"From the Midway" is a production of the Chicago Tribune. It was created by digital news editor Colleen Connolly. Post-production editing was done by digital news editor Randi Shaffer. The music used in this podcast came from the album “Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” recorded by Lake Forest College.

The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago 125 years ago. The event helped launch Chicago to international renown and bore countless innovations, many of which are still enjoyed throughout the world. For the first episode, Olivia Mahoney, senior curator at the Chicago History Museum, and Rebecca Graff, assistant professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College, discuss where the World's Fair lives on today.

"From the Midway" is a production of the Chicago Tribune. It was created by digital news editor Colleen Connolly. Post-production editing was done by digital news editor Randi Shaffer. The music used in this podcast came from the album “Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” recorded by Lake Forest College.