The magic city : a massive portfolio of original photographic views of the great World's Fair and its treasures of art, including a vivid representation of the famous Midway Plaisance
The Magic City is a photographic portfolio of views of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, compiled by Carroll Fenwick and published in St. Louis in 1894 for visitors and collectors of the fair. The first picture shows a columned exhibition building with flags and a ceremonial gateway, with strollers and a lamp-lit avenue, while the second shows a low domed pavilion across a broad plaza with pedestrians and trees. Both are crisp, documentary views of architecture and public space, useful to a designer for classical civic façades, flag-lined promenades, and the sepia tonality of 1890s exposition photography. The second picture is a group portrait of bundled figures seated before a large mound, with a bench and wooden building behind, offering a candid, informal counterpoint to the monumental architecture.
