The year was 1893, and the Midwest was experiencing World’s Fair fever. Chicago’s town fathers, eager to show that their prairie city was more than just a cow town, had created a grand spectacle to celebrate (a year late) the four-hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America. Columbus may have been the excuse, but from the day of its opening the theme of the Columbian Exposition, like that of most world’s fairs, was Progress.

To the 21 million Americans who thronged the 600-acre fair to see the wonders of the age, no marvel was more a symbol of progress than electricity. From opening day, on May 1, when President Grover Cleveland pressed a button to activate the electrically operated fountains, fairgoers were treated to an electrical extravaganza. They saw Ötis elevators, the great Ferris wheel, clean and silent trains and boats, and a baby incubator, all running on electricity. After dark the grounds blazed with multicolored lights strung from pavilion to pavilion. The administration building alone was strung with more than 5,000 of Edison’s incandescent bulbs.

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