What anniversary did the fair celebrate?

400 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage

Why was it called the White City?

Its grand buildings were coated in white plaster

Only white flowers were planted

Which companies lit the fair with alternating current?

Westinghouse with Nikola Tesla's system

What was the Midway Plaisance?

An entertainment strip with rides and exhibits

World's Columbian Exposition Quiz: Chicago's 1893 White City

This World's Columbian Exposition quiz returns to Chicago in 1893, when a temporary city of white palaces rose beside Lake Michigan. Play 10 interactive questions on Columbus's anniversary, Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, the first Ferris wheel, the Midway, electric lighting by Westinghouse and Tesla, 27 million visitors and the surviving museum.

Start World's Columbian Exposition Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

City
Which city hosted the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition?
Why
What anniversary did the fair celebrate?
White
Why was it called the White City?
Burnham
Who directed the fair's construction?
Olmsted
Who designed the fair's landscape?
Wheel
Which giant attraction debuted at the fair?
Power
Which companies lit the fair with alternating current?
Midway
What was the Midway Plaisance?
Visitors
About how many visits did the fair record?
Museum
Which Chicago museum occupies a surviving fair building?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which city hosted the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition?
Answer: Chicago
It was built on the lakefront.
Q2: What anniversary did the fair celebrate?
Answer: 400 years since Columbus's 1492 voyage
It opened a year late.
Q3: Why was it called the White City?
Answer: Its grand buildings were coated in white plaster
Electric lights made it glow at night.
Q4: Who directed the fair's construction?
Answer: Daniel Burnham
He coordinated many architects.
Q5: Who designed the fair's landscape?
Answer: Frederick Law Olmsted
He also designed Central Park.
Q6: Which giant attraction debuted at the fair?
Answer: The first Ferris wheel
George Ferris designed it.
Q7: Which companies lit the fair with alternating current?
Answer: Westinghouse with Nikola Tesla's system
It showcased AC power.
Q8: What was the Midway Plaisance?
Answer: An entertainment strip with rides and exhibits
The word midway came from it.
Q9: About how many visits did the fair record?
Answer: About 27 million
It ran for six months.
Q10: Which Chicago museum occupies a surviving fair building?
Answer: Museum of Science and Industry
It was the Palace of Fine Arts.

World'S Columbian Exposition Quiz – Chicago's 1893 White City

The World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago in 1893 to mark 400 years since Columbus's voyage of 1492. Daniel Burnham directed the work, and Frederick Law Olmsted shaped the grounds along Lake Michigan.

Grand neoclassical buildings coated in white plaster gave the fair the name White City, glowing at night under electric lights. Westinghouse used Nikola Tesla's alternating current system to power the displays.

George Ferris built the first Ferris wheel, and the Midway Plaisance offered rides and exhibits from around the world. The fair recorded about 27 million visits, and its Palace of Fine Arts now houses the Museum of Science and Industry.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Why the fair was held
Who designed it
What made it the White City
Which attractions debuted
What survives today

Did You Know?

The original Ferris wheel was about 80 meters tall.
Most buildings were temporary and later burned or were removed.
Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City is set at the fair.
The fair inspired the City Beautiful movement.
Many US states built their own pavilions.