Daniel Burnham – The

White City
By Brajesh Bathri, Hussain Fakhri
Overview
• Daniel Burnham was a successful Chicago
architect, he was selected as Director of Works
for the 1892–93 World's Columbian Exposition,
colloquially referred to as "The White City".
• He had prominent roles in the creation of master
plans for the development of a number of cities,
including the Plan of Chicago, and plans for
Manila, Baguio and downtown Washington,
D.C..
Top- Ar. Daniel Burnham
Bottom- Burnham and Bennett’s Plan of San Fransisco
 The White City
• The World Columbian Exposition was located in Jackson Park and on the Midway Plaisance in the neighborhoods of South
Shore, Jackson Park Highlands, Hyde Park, and Woodlawn.
• The Color Of The Material Generally Used To Cover The Buildings' Façades (White Staff) Gave The Fairgrounds Its
Nickname, The White City.
• The layout of the Chicago Columbian Exposition was, in large part, designed by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Frederic
Law Olmsted and Charles B. Atwood
• Site Coverage: 690 acres (2.8 km2).
• Nearly 200 new (but deliberately temporary) buildings of
predominantly neoclassical architecture, canals and lagoons,
and people and cultures from 46 countries.
• Attendance: 27 million people attended the exposition during
its 6 month run.

• Cost: $27,245,566 (over $534 million in today’s money)

• Electric Lighting: over 138,000 lights
• Bathrooms: 3000 (1500 of which charged a nickel)
• Two water plants, pumping out 64,000,000 gallons of water a day
• Its scale and grandeur far exceeded the other world's fairs, and it became a symbol of the emerging American Exceptionalism
• Orderly arrangement of public extensive grounds and buildings.
 The Midway Plaisance
•
  This Midway entrance was one
mile west of Jackson Park.
• The mile long Midway Plaisance,
ran from the eastern edge of
Washington Park on Cottage
Grove Avenue, to the western edge
of Jackson Park on Stony Island
Avenue.

The Electricity Building

• The international exposition was
held in a building which was
devoted to electrical exhibits.
• Constructed into fruition for a cost
of $410,000.

Terminal Rail Road

• Transportation by rail was the major
mode of transportation.
• 26 tracks train station was built at
the South West corner of the fair.
• While trains from around the
country would unload there, there
was a local train to shuttle tourists
from the Chicago Grand Central
Station to the fair.
 Transportation Building
This structure was remarkable in the
group of greater buildings through the
fact that it was painted with various
colors, mainly red while the other
enclosures were white. 

Agricultural Building
 White designed the sprawling
edifice, which was 800 feet long and
500 feet wide, occupying
approximately 10 acres in the
southeast corner of the fairgrounds

The Great Wharf

Moving Sidewalk, it allowed people

to walk along or ride in seats
 Palace of Fine Arts
This building, which is expressly
devoted to the exhibit of fine arts,
painting, sculpture and statuary, is
divided into four great courts known
as the north, south, east and west
courts.

Manufactures and Liberal

Arts Building
If this building were standing today, it
would rank second in volume and third
in footprint on list of largest
building(130,000m2, 8,500,000m3)

Wooden Island
The naturalistic setting of Wooded
Isle, designed by landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted.
Fairgoers retreated to the island for
relaxation on its shaded trails.