In October of 1890 there was word of an impending recession which would come to fruition in the Panic of 1893.
In mid January of 1891 a large bank in Kansas City failed. The fair's president, Lyman Gage, resigned in order to tend to his bank.
Thousands of workers had come to Chicago to find work with the fair, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea, which left many homeless and looking for work (Larson 2003).
Ten thousand construction workers were put out onto the street once the fair started, with thousands more to join at the close of the fair. Mayor Harrison, known for his attention towards the working class, hired thousands of the unemployed to clean streets and had police stations stay open at night for men to sleep in (Larson 2003).
On the night of Thursday, May 5 (1893), officials of the National Cordage Company, a trust that controlled 80 percent of America's rope production, placed itself in receivership. Next Chicago's Chemical National Bank ceased operation, a closure that seemed particularly ominous to fair officials because Chemical alone had won congressional approval to open a branch at the world's fair, in no less central a location than the Administration Building (Larson 2003).
"The pride and bombast of the Fair turned sour with the onset of an economic depression - The Panic of 1893. By the end of that year, the combination of depressed economic conditions and the excess of labor the Fair had drawn to Chicago had thrown 100,000 men onto its streets," (http://florencekelley.northwestern.edu/historical/expo/).
Revenues from gate admission, concessions, and exhibitors reached $35 million. After all expenses were paid the fair made a profit of about $2 million which was split amongst shareholders (Rosenburg 2008).
The city's population grew from under 400,000 to over 1.2 million (Findling 1994).
During the Depression of 1893-1897 nearly 600 banks collapsed, taking down 15,000 businesses; the railroad companies of Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, and the Topeka & Sante Fe among them, (Rosenberg 2008).
Despite the dismal economic climate, the fair would ultimately lead to growth for America. "Late in the 19th century American manufacturing started to migrate from the eastern seaboard to the burgeoning Midwest in search of cheaper labor, more raw materials, and cheaper power," (Rosenburg 2008, p. 278).
In mid January of 1891 a large bank in Kansas City failed. The fair's president, Lyman Gage, resigned in order to tend to his bank.
Thousands of workers had come to Chicago to find work with the fair, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea, which left many homeless and looking for work (Larson 2003).
Ten thousand construction workers were put out onto the street once the fair started, with thousands more to join at the close of the fair. Mayor Harrison, known for his attention towards the working class, hired thousands of the unemployed to clean streets and had police stations stay open at night for men to sleep in (Larson 2003).
On the night of Thursday, May 5 (1893), officials of the National Cordage Company, a trust that controlled 80 percent of America's rope production, placed itself in receivership. Next Chicago's Chemical National Bank ceased operation, a closure that seemed particularly ominous to fair officials because Chemical alone had won congressional approval to open a branch at the world's fair, in no less central a location than the Administration Building (Larson 2003).
"The pride and bombast of the Fair turned sour with the onset of an economic depression - The Panic of 1893. By the end of that year, the combination of depressed economic conditions and the excess of labor the Fair had drawn to Chicago had thrown 100,000 men onto its streets," (http://florencekelley.northwestern.edu/historical/expo/).
Revenues from gate admission, concessions, and exhibitors reached $35 million. After all expenses were paid the fair made a profit of about $2 million which was split amongst shareholders (Rosenburg 2008).
The city's population grew from under 400,000 to over 1.2 million (Findling 1994).
During the Depression of 1893-1897 nearly 600 banks collapsed, taking down 15,000 businesses; the railroad companies of Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, and the Topeka & Sante Fe among them, (Rosenberg 2008).
Despite the dismal economic climate, the fair would ultimately lead to growth for America. "Late in the 19th century American manufacturing started to migrate from the eastern seaboard to the burgeoning Midwest in search of cheaper labor, more raw materials, and cheaper power," (Rosenburg 2008, p. 278).
