The
World's Columbian Exposition (the official shortened name for the
World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, also known as
The Chicago World's Fair and
Chicago Columbian Exposition) was a
world's fair held in
Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus's arrival in the
New World in 1492. The iconic centerpiece of the Fair, the large water pool, represented the long voyage Columbus took to the New World. Chicago bested
New York City;
Washington, D.C.; and
St. Louis for the honor of hosting the fair. The Exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on
architecture, sanitation, the arts, Chicago's self-image, and American industrial optimism.