Hacker Cinema
EXPO: Magic of the White City
2005 · Film · documentary · 116 min
Directed by Mark Bussler
Explore the world of 1893 through a cinematic visit to Chicago's Columbian Exposition. Many of the world's greatest achievements in art, architecture, science, technology and culture are unveiled there. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for his design of New York City's Central Park, and constructed under the supervision of Daniel Burnham. The Fair was an engineering marvel. On opening day, President Grover Cleveland depressed a golden telegraph key which sent the first courses of electricity throughout the Fair powering fountains, machines, electric railways and thousands of lights. It was the first use of electricity on such a massive scale. Nearly 28 million visit the "White City," which inspires future innovators like Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Frank Lloyd Wright, and debuts the Ferris Wheel and Cracker Jack.
2 positivefrom 2 commenters
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2 comments on Hacker News
I stumbled on this amazing documentary, "Expo - Magic of the White City"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6HuBYiQEeM
The first 10 minutes are a little cornball but the rest is amazing. I'd never have even looked except it's narrated by Gene Wilder who hadn't done anything for decades and I got curious to know why he'd choose to do this.
Apparently Electricity was "introduced" at the the Expo, as well as the Ferris Wheel, and a bunch of other things
https://chicagoworldsfair1893.weebly.com/new-products-and-technologies.html
It's amazing to me that 27 million people could manage to visit an expo in 1893
As a Gene Wilder fan I was once digging for things to watch on Amazon and stumbled on a documentary narrated by Gene Wilder. I wouldn't have even noticed it but when I saw his name He'd been out of the limelight for so long I thought "wow, what could have made him agree to do this?" So I watched it.
I can't recommend it enough. It's called "EXPO - Magic of the White City" and is as about the 1893 Chicago Exposition. It takes about 10 minutes to really get started and it's got some cheesy stuff but it was fascinating. I've shown it to several people and they all got sucked in.
Not sure if this is a legit upload but it's on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cpOQE5KJJds Or Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Expo-Magic-White-Gene-Wilder/dp/B004S77VGW
If it weren't for Gene I'd never had known about such an amazing topic. Thanks Gene!