Chicago Part 3: the Jackson Park Death March

As an Urban Historian, it was very important for me to see the remnants of the Columbian Exposition, or Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Sadly, there isn't much left of Daniel Burnham's Great White City, which was designed to be only temporary. There are basically three structures that remain. One was the administration building, now the Museum of Science. Here we are at one of the lesser entrances.
This view from the back captures the enormity of the structure. Everything about that World's Fair was large.
The Lady Columbia Statue is a replica of the one that was in the World's Fair and only 1/3 the size of the original!
Poor Kevin. I marched him through Jackson Park in search of the statue, not realizing how far it was on foot--especially for someone who was still recovering with a sprained ankle, or a woman who was 7 months pregnant. Did I mention it was really humid? And we had skipped lunch?

On our way there we did come across a beautiful Japanese Garden, also a remnant of the Fair.
To get back, however, we were mid-park and exhausted, and weren't exactly sure we knew where we were. (No good map of the park in our travel book.) We didn't end up walking out of the way, but the walk back was LONG, and we were tired. And hadn't eaten for a very long time. We stumbled upon the Midway Plasiance, where the famed Ferris Wheel had been unveiled in 1893. Knowing that was near the University of Chicago, I thought we were close to the Rockerfeller Chapel on campus.
That side trip required more walking. We heard distant bells and followed the sound. When we arrived at the large church and found a Clarion Bell concert going on Kevin finally collapsed and rested.

We did rally and look in on the church after catching our breath.
The music was lovely, but we were famished. A nice docent found someone who could recommend a place to eat. Of course, that required more walking. On the way to the restaurant is when I dubbed our adventure the "Jackson Park Death March," because of the humidity, the lack of food, and the seemingly endless walking. Kevin was too tired and hungry to think I was clever.

We had a delicious Italian dinner and practically licked our plates. With new-found energy, we made it across the street to the bus stop and went home.

I thought it was a good thing that the University of Chicago hadn't accepted me to their History PhD program. I loved the campus and the neighborhood and probably would have picked it over UCLA. Then, Kevin and I wouldn't have met and........well, its a good thing they rejected me.