Chicago Midway Vs White City Essay

The early 20th century saw a great transformation in cultural and social norms in America. It was a time of emerging industrialization and rapid social changes in urban society. This new age called for economic and cultural changes in the way society worked and played. Technology played a large role in the transformation, and this was evidenced through the expansion of entertainment in the form of increasingly extravagant amusement parks. While the evolution was taking place in many areas of the country, it was no more evident than with the famous amusement parks of Coney Island which became iconic symbols of the social changes of the era. Prior to this time of technical and social revolution, urban society was limited in the variety of

White City was the more genteel of the two, emphasizing high culture and education with magnificent white marble buildings. White City was to be “an embodiment of public order, cultural unity, and civic virtue” and the aim of creating it was “to elevate the city by its example of monumental grandeur” (Kasson 18). However, White City did not satisfy the masses because “the strenuous cultural demands of the fair could prove oppressive”. While the cultural exhibits of the White City were free, the masses actually preferred to pay for the more popular and exotic amusements of the sister-fair to the White City which was the Midway. The Midway included amusements such as anthropological attractions with ethnic entertainers in exotic native costumes, as well as numerous games and rides including a large ferris wheel. The Midway, while still designed with cultural ideals in mind like the White City, attempted to appeal to the masses with more extravagance than previous forms of recreation. Yet, the desire for even more exotic and less-reserved forms of entertainment remained the desire of the general