Each time I am in Paris, I pass the Grand Palais which is situated near the Champs-Élysées. It is the traditional way to walk for some of the beautiful views of this enormous glitzy shopping street. I have never given the Grand Palais too much thought. I always admire the building but this time, I decided to look into a bit more.
This lead me to Chicago...for those of you who have read
The Devil in the White City, you will remember that the setting is The World's Fair held in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago beat out NYC, D.C., and St. Louis for the honor of hosting. I moved to The Netherlands from Chicago so of course this does my heart proud. More information, read on:
World's Colombian Fair. Needless to say, Chicago had to come up with something that would wow the visitors as much as the Tour de Eiffel did in 1889. Let's say there was a bit of competition going on...
How does the Grand Palais come in to the picture? Well, Paris hosted another World's Fair in 1900. Paris had to come up with something that not only topped Chicago but also their own Eiffel Tower...hence the Grand Palais amongst other landmarks.
Each time I am in Paris, I pass the Grand Palais which is situated near the Champs-Élysées. It is the traditional way to walk for some of the beautiful views of this enormous glitzy shopping street. I have never given the Grand Palais too much thought. I always admire the building but this time, I decided to look into a bit more.
How does the Grand Palais come in to the picture? Well, Paris hosted another World's Fair in 1900. Paris had to come up with something that not only topped Chicago but also their own Eiffel Tower...hence the Grand Palais amongst other landmarks.
