Analysis Of The Devil In The White City By Daniel Burnham

The Devil in the White City is a novel that spans the years surrounding the building of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, also known as The World's Columbian Exposition, which was designed to commemorate the landing of Columbus in America. The novel focuses on a main character, Daniel Burnham, who is the architect who builds the 1893 Chicago World’s fair. Throughout the novel, Daniel Burnham encounters many obstacles that threaten the success of the fair at all stages of construction and successfulness. The death of Burnham’s partner John Root, May 1st, 1893, and Mayor Harrison’s murder all tested Burnham’s aspiration in completing the Fair, but with grace, persistence, and determination, Burnham completes construction and increases fair attendance

Burnham had left the room to take a call from Dora Root, John’s husband. She explains to him over the phone that John has been diagnosed with pneumonia. Throughout his illness, Burnham would bounce back and forth between Root’s bedside and also meeting with the architects to ensure that the fair was still on track to being completed. Root’s death not only stunned Burnham but is also stunned the city of Chicago. Root was considered the most distinguished architect Chicago had ever seen. Burnham has considered quitting the fair after his partners death, “two forces warred within him; grief, and a desire to cry out that he, Burnham, had been the engine driving the design of the fair; that he was the partner who had propelled the firm of Burnham & Root to greater and greater achievement” (page, 108). After Roots death, we see Burnham establish a sense of pride within himself which will carry throughout the rest of the novel. Even with grieving the loss of his partner and friend John Root, Burnham's pride causes him to

A line of carriages carries important people, including President Grover Cleveland and Daniel Burnham, to the fair at Jackson Park. President Cleveland speaks at a ceremony signifying the much-anticipated opening of the exposition. The general consensus among the crowd is that the fair is a success, despite the mud-covered walkways and roads, unfinished landscaping, and unfinished Ferris wheel. Attendance registers between 500,000 and 600,000 people. However, the cause for celebration doesn't last long. Day two of the fair reels in roughly 10,000 people. Through the days to come after the fair had officially opened, many banks are forced to close and the stock market crashes. Burnham and his brigade of architects, draftsmen, engineers, and contractors had accomplished so much in an impossibly short time, but apparently not enough to overcome the damping effect of the fast-degrading economy. Many aspects of the fair were still unfinished including the elevators, the Ferris wheel being half finished, and roadways were still submerged under mud. “First and foremost, Burnham knew, the fair had to be finished, but in the meantime lures had to be cast to encourage people to shed their fears of financial ruin and come to Chicago” (page, 241). Burnham appointed Frank Millet to come up with new ideas on getting greater attendance at the fair. Millet implemented things such as fireworks, shows and parades. Millet even dedicated specific days