Devil in the White City Blog #2

     The World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago was both a true architectural masterpiece and a facade. It wasn't intended to be a sham in any way, but as pressure built to finish construction on the fair in time for Opening Day built, some shortcuts had to be taken and orders made in order to finish quickly and gracefully at the same time. For example, the fair builders gave up the idea of building the White City's walls out of granite in favor of construction using a plaster-like material called staff. A city that stood for hundreds of years of development and progress then became one that, ironically, could not stand for more than six months. The night before Opening Day, thousands of laborers worked throughout the night to clean and organize what then stood as a potentially great fair, full of debris. These laborers were not part of the joy of the City's lighting the next day, in spite of being the force behind making it happen. It is true that many of those who did enjoy the festivities were ignorant to this dark side, and those in charge, who did know gave little thought to it, in arrogance.
     Even without a somewhat darker side, the World's Fair would have been an act of flamboyance. During early planning for the Fair, it seemed certain it would either be held in the capital city of Washington D.C., or the most populous city, New York. However, after much bidding and voting, Chicago was eventually awarded the honor. Chicago architects felt the push to not only out do what Washington or New York might have done, but also what had already been done in Paris at its World Exposition. The Ferris Wheel's appearance at the Fair served almost exclusively as a response to Paris' Eiffel Tower. The money spent on the Fair did not go to waste, because it stimulated the Chicagoan economy and boosted American pride. Nevertheless, the Fair was more an act of showing off than something made for the people.
      Such creative acts as the World's Fair are not necessarily paralleled with some evil, but there is a definite likelihood that any given extravagant act will either draw from dark roots or attract some dark presence later on, or both as is the case with the World's Fair. It came only partially from a desire to please the American people and the world. The rest of its inspiration came from a desire to upstage another country's celebration. As it ran, it met with both natural and human evil. The Fair faced constant brutality from storms and fire, and its nearest hotel was, in reality, a serial killer's House of Horrors. There are other examples of darkness associated with grand exhibitions such as artists who draw inspiration from depression and other negative emotion, like Picasso in the Blue Period. However, the fact that the Fair faced the constant onset of naturally occurring negatives such as the collapse or the Manufacturing Building, human evil embodied in the crimes surrounding the Fair, and was developed out of a somewhat sinister desire, sets it as the ultimate example of elegance and exuberance mixed well with evil.

Devil in the White City Blog #1

     The Devil in the White City is structured to parallel the bright and busy story of the "magic"  side of the World's Fair in 1893 and the dark and twisted story of the "murder and madness" fated to happen right outside its gates. The book reveals that there is an "ineluctable conflict between good and evil"; one cannot escape the presence of the other. The creators of the fair, especially Burnham and Olmsted, created a place of magic and light, both literal and figurative. They drew in people from all over the world to celebrate many cultures and progressions into the modern day. However, as the note Evils Imminent suggests, where there is light, there must be dark. Beyond the somewhat darker choices that had to be made to make the grand fair possible, e.g. routing water from a general area surrounding the town that it would be claimed to come from, the brightness of the Fair called out to evil. It was a place where young women, alone for the first time in their lives, felt safe, even adventurous. The shining presence of good and happiness can easily mask the presence of danger or evil, so naturally men like H. H. Holmes took interest in it as a place where his work could be easily done and go unnoticed.
     The essential difference between Holmes and Burnham, in fact, is the way in which they view an idea like the Fair. Both saw potential in the idea; both saw potential for benefit. However, who they imagined would benefit set them apart. Burnham saw Jackson Park as a place that would benefit as many as were willing to make the journey to see it. H.H. Holmes saw it as place that would inevitable benefit others, but would especially serve him in finding his "necessary supply". Most essentially, their differences came from a shared desire to change the face of notoriously dirty and crime-ridden Chicago. Burnham literally wanted to make the city whiter, cleaner, and better presented. Holmes loved Chicago for what it was, and only desired to add his own legacy.
     In spite of their conflict that occurs throughout the book without them meeting, Holmes and Burnham shared qualities and basic dreams that pulled them both into fame. Both men were indisputable geniuses; both jumpstarted and presented the future. Burnham created a fair that beckoned to inventors of America and the world, asking them to show what the future would look like. From the Electricity Building to the Manufacturing and Liberal Arts building and beyond, fairgoers saw amazing new inventions and products such as the motion picture and Cracker Jacks. Holmes created a hotel, and a crime scheme that advanced far from crime of the past. Holmes committed identity theft multiple times. He used his license as a physician to get future victims to trust him with their lives. As noted, both men dreamed about the future of Chicago and their own futures. What set them apart was whose benefit they focused their genius toward and what they hoped the future would look like.