Chapter I: Part II

THE GREAT WORLD’S FAIR.--Being a Complete History of the Stupendous
Exposition that will be Thrown Open in 1893, when the Peopled
World Will be Called Upon to View the Progress of the Future
Metropolis--How the Exposition will be Opened in the Fall of the
Present Year--The Colossal Buildings and Their Contents--Hints
for the Wayfarer to Follow in His Strolls About the City During
Fair Time.

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Lillian Russell Frontispiece

A Group of Footlight Favorites 220

Popular Playhouses 40

A Summer Concert Garden 168

Masquerades Dream 118

Bird’s Bye View of the World’s Fair 260

Auditorium Proscenium Arch 200

Panoramas, Casino and Libby Prison 80

MINOR ILLUSTRATIONS.

I. The Compiler at Work 21

II. The Guest Registering 24

III. Driving About the Town 27

IV. Harvey’s “Wayside Inn” 30

V. At the Theatres 34

VI. At the Stage Entrance 38

VII. The Auditorium Tower 43

VIII. Astride of the Moon 49

IX. Two Unique Play Houses 51

X. At Free and Easy Shows 53

XI. Types at Engel’s 60

XII. Churches 69

XIII. Professor Swing in the Pulpit 75

XIV. John Brown’s Forge 79

XV. Perils and Pitfalls 81

XVI. Buying Banana Stalks 83

XVII. The Adventuress 87

XVIII. Catching On 92

XIX. The Tiger’s Implements 97

XX. A Minion of the Tiger 99

XXI. Victims of the Tiger 101

XXII. Satellites of the Tiger 104

XXIII. A Masquerade Sprite 114

XXIV. The Fair Shopper 120

XXV. On the Caroussel 123

XXVI. In the Turkish Bath 127

XXVII. The Pretty Manicure 129

XXVIII. The Guileless Hackman 134

XXIX. The Woman’s Temple 130

XXX. The Pretty Wheelwoman 144

XXXI. Looking at the Race 157

XXXII. The Huckster 162

XXXIII. The Circus Sprite 164

XXXIV. An Ideal Afternoon 166

XXXV. On the Water 183

XXXVI. Music Hath Charms 171

XXXVII. The Waiter 187

XXXVIII. A Petit Souper 191

XXXIX. An Anarchist 194

XL. The Haymarket Monument 198

XLI. A Cheyenne Fairy 201

XLII. Cheyenne Types 203

XLIII. Candies and Flowers 206

XLIV. Elevated Railroads 216

XLV. The Author Moralizes 223

WORLD’S FAIR PICTURES.

I. Administration Building 224

II. Figure from the Mining Building 234

III. Figure from the Liberal Arts Building 242

IV. Benjamin Franklin 247

V. A Dedicatory Scene 251

VI. A Chicago Hussar 257

VII. Group From the Woman’s Building 261

VIII. Group From the Woman’s Building 263

IX. Group From the Liberal Arts Building 265

X. Scene in the Chinese Tea Palace 266

XI. Scene in the Moorish Village 268

XII. An Opium Fiend 275

XIII. Finis--The Author at Rest 281

INTRODUCTORY.

At a Time when the attention of the world is concentrated upon Chicago, as it is at present, it is fitting that the stranger within its gates, as well as the uninitiated native, should be made aware of the various attractions, of all sorts and conditions, possessed by the future metropolis of the United States. Chicago has been called the Paris of America, that title having been bestowed upon it by some bright-minded and discerning person who evidently knew whereof he spoke. That the title is indisputable goes without saying. In no other city of its size on the continent is the same variety of amusements to be found as in this one. All tastes may be promptly satisfied, all preferences catered to. If, when confronted by the marvelously variegated array of recreations and pursuits that this great city has to offer, the stranger or the periodical visitor should turn away dissatisfied, imagining that he has failed to discover anything especially suited to his fancy, his mental and physical organism must be sadly askew. It is his fault and not Chicago’s.

From now on, and for the next year or so, this mighty city by the lake will swarm with myriads of men and women of all races, tribes and languages, being brought hither by the Great Exposition that is destined to be the marvel of all nations. That some of this floating mass will remain here is beyond question. In that case the population will swell until the two million mark is passed, and in the proportion that the population increases, so also will increase the attractions of the city that harbors it.

It is the purpose of the present work to set forth, in a terse but comprehensive manner, the various sorts of entertainment offered by the Coming Metropolis. The Author, while sufficiently modest to keep his identity a secret, makes bold to assert that no person who scans the pages of this book will be able, after he has done so, to lay claim to ignorance of the means whereby to procure entertainment or solace for such hours of idleness as he may find on his hands during his stay in this city. The present area of Chicago is a fraction over 180 square miles. What its area will be next year, or ten years hence, nobody can predict. For the present it is sufficient to know that within that area of 180 square miles there dwells a community active, energetic, mercurial--eager in business and therefore keen in its thirst for recreation outside of business hours.

The present work is undertaken in no spirit of levity or thoughtlessness. Its author is a man-of-the-world who, recognizing the desire of the average man to be amused when the cares of business are done, and being fully cognizant of the qualifications of this city in the amusement line, aims to instruct the uninitiated wayfarer in the paths he may follow with the most satisfaction to himself and the greatest benefit to his system. If but one reader confesses his indebtedness to this work for enlightenment in the smallest degree, its purpose will have been achieved.

With renewed assurances, therefore, that the seeker after light upon a great city’s manner of amusing itself will not seek in vain, the Author makes his bow to the reader and tenders him an invitation to accompany him through the following pages.