ABSTRACT
In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exhibition opened in Chicago, with a congressional mandate to be “an exhibition of the progress of civilization in the New World.” The focal point of that exhibition was the White City, a complex of beaux arts buildings representing seven aspects of civilization’s highest achievements (Manufactures, Mines, Agriculture, Art, Administrations, Machinery, and Electricity) around a central basin named the Court of Honor. The White City was an icon of the superiority of civilized white men and pointed towards the ideal, perfectable future of the race.The White City glorified the masculine worlds by filling the buildings with thousands of enormous engines, warships, trains, machines, and armaments, as well as examples of commerce. 1
