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Print of the Proposed Site for the 1892 World’s Fair

A. Hoen & Co. (Baltimore), “Birdseye View of the National Capital Including the Site of the Proposed World’s Exposition of 1892 and Permanent Exposition of the Three Americas,” published by E. Kurtz Johnson, 1888. Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection AS 286.

During the 1870s, the city of Washington embarked on an initiative to transform the National Mall from wetlands into a park. The city covered over parts of the Washington City Canal, including the Tiber Creek section, which once flowed where Constitution Avenue is located today. The Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Potomac River and used the material as backfill – adding over 700 acres to the Mall. By the late 1880s, city leaders were ready to propose hosting the World’s Fair of 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World.

This print promotes Washington as the host city for the fair. The bird’s-eye view of the proposed site centers around the Washington Monument, which was completed in 1888 and was the tallest structure in the world at the time. Additional sites depicted in the print include a temporary building for the World’s Exhibition, the national zoo, three permanent buildings for a state and territorial exhibit, working models of American inventions and a “Three Americas” exhibit.

On the left is a proposed stone Gothic Revival bridge connecting B St. NW – now Constitution Avenue – with Virginia. On the right is the railroad line across the Potomac River, connecting Virginia with railroad stations on the Mall – all good transportation routes to the fair. The plan also included four lakes with a statue of Columbus in the middle. After much debate, the fair was eventually awarded to Chicago as the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Colored print showing the city of Washington, D.C. with open green space in the foreground and an obelisk and many red brick buildings in the background with text at the bottom reading: Birdseye View of the National Capital Including the Site of the Proposed World's Exposition of 1892 and Permanent Exposition of the Three Americas.
Large interior space with banners hanging from the ceiling, a row of wooden benches in a central aisle, and many glass cases full of varying objects as well as free-standing taxidermied animals.
United States National Museum Photographic Laboratory, World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair), 1893. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 61, Folder 11, Image No. SIA_000095_B61_F11_029.
Researched by Nancy Hoagland

Nancy Hoagland has been a docent with the museum since 2014. She previously taught college writing for more than 30 years. She has a collection of family textiles from Alabama and enjoys sewing and weaving.