Day 52: The Golden Lady

     The year was 1893.  There had been an announcement of the World's Fair for that year, and it was to be held in Chicago.  Immediately, people started bursting into action in order to prepare for the Fair.  One of the many installations was the erection of a statue in the area which would be soon occupied by the Court of Honor.  The statue, a work by Daniel Chester French, was 65 feet tall, and was called the Statue of the Republic.  Not just that, but it was to be the most imposing construction at the Fair, dwarfing all other sculptures, as well as standing at a point of prominence in front of the Fair's Main Building.  The Columbian Exposition ran for 5 months, wowing attendees and introducing the world to countless products that we take for granted today.  However, the Fair did eventually close on October 31, 1893.

     After the Fair, almost all of the buildings fell victim to destruction, either by fire or by neglect.  Unfortunately, one of the installations that was destroyed was the Statue, by a fire in 1896.  Fast forward 12 years, and French is commissioned to erect a replica of "The Republic" as a memorial to the 25th Anniversary of the Exposition.  This time, the sculpture was only 24 feet tall, and it was placed on a pedestal that was designed by Henry Bacon, who would go on to collaborate with French on Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial.  Today, the sculpture sits in Jackson Park, which is a community park so named for President Andrew Jackson.  In 1992, the statue was restored to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Exposition.  To this day, many Chicagoans refer to the sculpture as "The Golden Lady".  Regardless of its name, the statue pays tribute to the 1893 Columbian Exposition, an event that has shaped Chicago like none other before or since.