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Chicago Stories

World's Fair of 1893

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World's Fair of 1893

A mere two decades after a devastating fire leveled much of the city, Chicago prevailed in a fierce competition to host a global event: The World’s Columbian Exposition, marking 400 years since Christopher Columbus discovered America. This episode journeys back to that magical “White City” – exploring the immense challenges in building it and the physical toll the process took on its creators, its stunning exhibits and many innovations that are still a part of our daily lives, the racial and economic inequities that informed it, and the twisted machinations of a ruthless swindler and serial killer who operated on its outskirts. Audio-narrated descriptions are available.

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